Jun 29, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; UFC CEO and president Dana White during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

UFC champion seeks historic win as Dana White announces two title fights for UFC 323

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Zain Bando | Last updated Oct 13, 2025 4:46 PM ET

The UFC's event calendar is nearing its conclusion, as Saturday, Dec. 6, will see the promotion return to its home base of Las Vegas, Nevada, with the T-Mobile Arena playing host to UFC 323 and a pair of title fights to top the bill.

The main event sees UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili make a two-month turnaround to face former titleholder Petr Yan as Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA) attempts to chase UFC history with another signature win to cap off a would-be perfect year and continue to solidify himself as one of the UFC's pound-for-pound best.

White took to social media to unveil Dvalishvili's title defense against Yan (19-5 MMA), revealing the key reason for the sudden turnaround occurring just nine days after Dvalishvili successfully defended his belt against Cory Sandhagen (18-6 MMA) in the co-main event of UFC 320.

"On the Monday after Merab's title defense at UFC 320, he came into the offices here [at UFC headquarters] and told us how important it was for him to break the record for the most title defenses in a year," White said.

Merab Attempts To Make UFC History

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Dvalishvili has defended his title three times thus far this year, but no UFC champion has ever done so four times, which would put Dvalishvili in a category of his own, should he defeat Yan.

CLOSING OUT THE YEAR STRONG @MerabDvalishvil vs @PetrYanUFC 2@PantojaMMA vs @JoshuaVanBT #UFC323 | Register your interest : https://t.co/Ciyl5FUqPj

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— UFC (@ufc) October 13, 2025

Elsewhere, the co-main event sees UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja attempt to win his ninth fight in a row against Joshua Van. Pantoja (30-5 MMA) has held UFC gold since July 2023, successfully defending his title four times since. His last fight saw him submit Kai Kara-France (25-12 MMA) without needing the championship rounds in the co-main event of UFC 317 in June.

Van (15-2 MMA), meanwhile, has been on a tear. A winner of five-straight and eight of nine UFC appearances, he clinched a title fight opportunity with a unanimous decision win in a "Fight of the Year" contender against Brandon Royval (17-8 MMA) before eventually squaring off with Pantoja to tease the fight, prior to it becoming official.

Who Else Is Fighting At UFC 323?

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The card also added some more strong name value to it with the return of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Błachowicz, as he'll face rising contender Bogdan Guskov in a huge fight that could sway the Top 15 of the division on its head, barring who wins.

Błachowicz (29-11-1 MMA) is fresh off back-to-back losses, while Guskov (18-3 MMA) has won four-straight and four of his first five UFC outings.

Additional bouts include Henry Cejudo (16-5 MMA) attempting to snap a three-fight skid against surging bantamweight contender Payton Talbott (10-1 MMA), while other reported fights will see lightweight Chris Duncan (14-2 MMA) fight Terrance McKinney (17-7 MMA). Lastly, Nazim Sadykhov (11-1-1 MMA) will fight Fares Ziam (17-4 MMA) at lightweight, and former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (23-8-2 MMA) goes for his third in a row against Tatsuro Taira (17-1 MMA).

More announcements will follow soon, as the card is subject to change.