UFC 323: Dana White announces championship double-header for UFC's final PPV show of 2025

UFC 323 will feature two championship fights, and the return of two former UFC champions, as the promotion brings down the curtain on its pay-per-view era partnership with ESPN in Las Vegas, on December 6.

UFC President and CEO Dana White has announced the first four confirmed matchups for the final pay-per-view event of 2025 – and the final pay-per-view event of their ESPN deal before the UFC switches to the new, no-PPV model of their new broadcast and streaming deal with Paramount.

The night will be headlined by a pair of championship bouts showcasing the UFC’s lighter weight classes, where two of the organisation’s most dominant champions currently hold their respective divisions in a chokehold.

Headlining the event is a battle for the undisputed bantamweight title, as Merab Dvalishvili makes a swift turnaround from his UFC 320 victory over Cory Sandhagen to put his title on the line once again in 2025.

Providing the opposition this time will be a familiar face. Petr Yan is a former undisputed and interim bantamweight champion, who lost to Dvalishvili by unanimous decision in a three-round non-title fight back in March 2023.

Since then, “No Mercy” has reeled off a hat-trick of decision victories, defeating Song Yadong, Deiveson Figueiredo and Marcus McGhee to put himself back into title contention again.

Now he’ll face Dvalishvili for the second time, with the Georgian world champion looking like one of the most dominant athletes in the UFC.

Dvalishvili hasn’t lost a fight since his submission defeat to Ricky Simon back in 2018. Since then, he’s won 14 UFC fights in a row. That run included four consecutive championship fight victories. He defeated Sean O’Malley to capture the belt at UFC 306 back in September 2024, then he retained the title against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January 2025.

He then rematched O’Malley, and submitted him in the third round at UFC 316 in June, before dominating Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 earlier this month.

Now he has the chance to notch his fourth successive title fight victory inside a calendar year as he takes on Yan again at UFC 323 on December 6.

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Also announced for the card is a battle for the flyweight world title, as reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja puts his title on the line against surging contender Joshua Van.

Pantoja is in the form of his career, and will enter the event riding an eight-fight win streak. He captured the 125-pound belt with a split-decision victory over Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 in July 2023, then successfully defended it by earning a unanimous decision victory over Brandon Royval at UFC 298 the following December.

Two more title defences followed in 2024 as Pantoja decisioned Steve Erceg at UFC 301, then submitted former RIZIN FF bantamweight champion Kai Asakura at UFC 310 last December.

Most recently, “The Cannibal” defeated Kai Kara-France via third-round submission at UFC 317 during UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas in June.

Another man who starred on that UFC 317 card was Van, who completed an incredible rise from talented prospect to title contender by winning five fights in a row between September 2024 and June 2025.

Wins over Edgar Chairez, Cody Durden, Rei Tsuruya and Bruno Silva saw Van enter the lower reaches of the UFC’s official flyweight rankings. Then, just three weeks after his win over Silva, Van stepped in on short notice to take on number-one contender Brandon Royval, who was left without an opponent after his opponent for his planned title eliminator fight, Manel Kape, was forced off the card.

Van proceeded to produce the performance of his career to earn a unanimous decision win after one of the most exciting fights of the year to earn himself a shot at the title. Now he faces Pantoja for the title in the co-main event at T-Mobile Arena.

Additional bouts confirmed for the event include a fascinating bantamweight matchup between returning former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo and rising prospect Payton Talbott, while at light heavyweight, former 205-pound champion Jan Blachowicz takes on hard-hitting Uzbek striker Bodgan Guskov, who has 15 knockouts from 18 career victories, and has finished each of his last four opponents in the UFC.