UFC 323 Review

The UFC went to the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, for its final card of the year and the last pay-per-view event before making the switch to Paramount Plus. This card had two title fights, as well as lots of high level fights, and has an argument for Card of the Year.

The first fight of the main card was a light heavyweight matchup between Polish fighter Jan Blachowicz and Uzbek fighter Bogdan Guskov. This fight was insane, with both fighters having their moments. Guskov, in round two, landed a right hand that dropped Blachowicz. Blachowicz would return the favor in round three, knocking Guskov to the canvas. After a back and forth brawl, the judges ruled the fight a tie. 

The second fight was a bantamweight bout between former UFC champ Henry Cejudo and rising star Payton Talbott. This fight was all Peyton Talbott as he found a way to match Cejudo's wrestling, even taking him down at times, and was able to carve him up on the feet. Talbott was landing at high clips, and at the end of the fight, Cejudo's face was mangled. Cejudo was able to scrape through all three rounds, and the judges ruled this fight a unanimous victory in favor of Payton Talbott. 

The third fight was a flyweight fight between Japan's Tatsuro Taira and Mexico's Brandon Moreno. In round one, Moreno took down Taira and kept the fight on the ground for almost four minutes, and won the round. In round two, Taira came out and put the pressure on Moreno, landing clean strikes and taking him down. Taira was able to start landing ground and pound, and Moreno on the ground was eating shot after shot before referee Mark Smith saw enough and stopped the fight, giving Taira the KO victory. 

The fourth fight was a title fight for the flyweight belt between the number one contender in the division, Joshua Van, and the reigning champion, Alexandre Pantoja. Joshua Van coming into the year was unranked, but he has quickly climbed the ranks with his last win against Brandon Royval being one of the best UFC fights of the year. Alexandre Pantoja has been dominant. He has defended the belt for more than two years with four title defenses. The first seconds of the fight looked like we were going to get a great fight; however, when Pantoja threw a head kick, Van caught it and threw Pantoja to the ground. In the process, Pantoja extended his arm, and when it met the canvas, it broke almost instantly. The fight was stopped, giving Van a KO victory and the flyweight belt. 

The main event on the card was for the bantamweight title between Georgia's Merab Dvalishvili and Russia's Petr Yan. Merab entered the fight as the heavy favorite, as these two fought in 2023 with Merab getting the better of Petr. The fight went the full distance, and it was a nightmare scenario for the champ. Merab struggled to land takedowns, going 2/29. Merab's ability to take down opponents is what makes him so dominant, and he struggled the entire fight to take Petr to the ground. Petr stylistically is a boxer, and he kept the fight standing, which played into his advantages, landing a plethora of powerful shots. Petr got the win via unanimous decision and did so in dominant fashion, becoming the new bantamweight champion.