Predictions for the UFC 323 main card

Merab Dvalishvili defeats Petr Yan for a second time by decision.

In their last fight, Dvalishvili completely shut down Yan through five rounds. Yan lost every round unanimously on all three judges’ scorecards. 

Yan has consistently held the claim that he was dealing with a hand injury going into the first fight with Dvalishvili. A healthy Yan should put up more of a fight the second time around. 

Dvalishvili has been on a tear this year. Beating the current No. 1 contender, Umar Nurmagomedov, the No. 2 contender, Sean O’Malley, and the No. 4 contender, Cory Sandhagen, all in the same calendar year. If Dvalishvili can pull out the win, it will be the most title defenses in a calendar year. 

Dvalishvili has been able to contain each of the contenders he’s fought this year. He is consistently fighting at the top in his division and beating them convincingly. Yan should be able to win a round or two, but should be no different than the other top contenders for Dvalishvili.

Alexandre Pantoja submits young contender Joshua Van late.

Pantoja versus Van will be a fun fight. Pantoja is a phenomenal grappler with a great submission game. Van is a young boxer with amazing pressure and one-punch power. 

Van should be able to defend Pantoja’s grappling early on in the fight, but it’s hard to stop for five rounds. If Pantoja can maintain top control in this fight or get to Van’s back, it would be more than likely that Van will get submitted. 

It should still be a very entertaining fight. Pantoja isn’t unbeatable. He leaves his chin open a lot, and that is a major flaw that Van can certainly exploit. Against Brandon Moreno, Pantoja ate a ton of clean shots to the head and was stunned multiple times. 

Van can stop the champ, but more than likely, Pantoja’s grappling will be too much for Van to handle.

Tatsuro Taira submits Brandon Moreno.

Moreno comes into this fight as the higher-ranked opponent, as the No. 2 contender in the flyweight division. Taira, though, is a tough opponent at 17 wins and 1 loss, coming from a split decision. 

Both fighters have great BJJ, and both have the majority of their fights finished by way of submission wins. Moreno has never finished in his career, but Taira could have what it takes to remove the zero from his record in that column. 

This will be an entertaining, high-action fight with both fighters looking to show that they are deserving of the next title shot. Taira is younger and has more to prove, which should help him in the end. 

Payton Talbott beats Henry Cejudo by decision.

Talbott is a rising prospect with only one loss by decision coming earlier in 2025. Cejudo is 38 years old and is fighting one final time. 

Talbott is dangerous on the feet and is a really good anti-grappler. With that being said, he will be facing an Olympic gold medalist wrestler in Cejudo. Cejudo will want to make this a grind for Talbott, especially since he has announced this will be his final fight.

This will be Talbott’s biggest test to date, but youth should be on his side and give him a clear advantage. If he’s able to get to his feet, his striking should get him the victory.

Jan Błachowicz knocks out Bogdan Guskov.

Blachowicz is 42 years old, but still has some fight left in the tank. Guskov is a dangerous one-shot knockout monster. 15 of Guskov’s 18 wins have come by way of knockout.

Blachowicz may be the best-ranked grappler in a weak grappling light heavyweight division. With his ability to take the fight to the ground, Goskov should have to open up to protect himself from the takedown. This will give Blachowicz opportunities to land clean on Guskov. Blachowicz has one-shot power just like Guskov. As a veteran of the sport, Blachowicz only needs a small opportunity to capitalize, and he should end up getting his chances.