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Andreas Hale
The ultimate UFC PPV of 2025 noticed two long-reigning champions lose their titles, albeit in drastically totally different outcomes. Alexandre Pantoja suffered a gruesome arm injury within the opening seconds of his battle with Joshua Van to drop the lads’s flyweight title by technical knockout, whereas Petr Yan regained the men’s bantamweight title 5 years after his first reign by avenging a loss to Merab Dvalishvili.
Other than each title fights ending with two new champions, UFC 323 featured an absolute barn burner of a light-weight heavyweight battle, a future Corridor of Famer sent to retirement after a gutsy efficiency and a number of other violent finishes.
UFC 323 was a wild night time of fights with quite a lot of endings, however the place does it stand among the many relaxation this 12 months?
After every pay-per-view, we break down and assess the standard of every battle and the battle card itself primarily based on talent displayed, competitiveness and what’s at stake. Andreas Hale takes a take a look at all 14 fights at UFC 323 in Las Vegas.
Gentle heavyweight: Iwo Baraniewski vs. Ibo Aslan
End result: Baraniewski defeats Aslan by first-round KO
Grade: A
Probably the most thrilling 90 seconds of UFC motion in 2025 passed off between these two gentle heavyweights. Baraniewski and Aslan charged at one another from the beginning of the battle and slung haymakers till one fighter ended up knocked out. Each got here near ending the battle early as they absorbed punishing energy photographs, nevertheless it was Baraniewski who related with the closing punch, sending Aslan down with a proper hand and ending him off with ground-and-pound. A completely chaotic and ridiculously enjoyable 90 seconds that you need to exit of your approach to see.
Males’s bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan
End result: Yan defeats Dvalishvili by unanimous determination
Grade: A-
Yan was completely sensible in using all of his instruments to become a two-time champion and reverse his fortunes after Dvalishvili dominated their first assembly. There can be debate surrounding Dvalishvili’s determination to defend his title 4 instances in a calendar 12 months, however that takes nothing away from Yan’s recreation plan. Yan masterfully fended off Dvalishvili’s takedown makes an attempt for the primary two rounds and put his pinpoint putting to work, busting up the champion and leaving him a bloody mess by the ultimate bell. However Dvalishvili by no means backed off and did all he may to claw again into the battle, gaining momentum with a trademark carry and slam in Spherical 3. However Yan was distinctive in all places, regaining the title in a thriller of a essential occasion that is price your time.
Light-weight: Jalin Turner vs. Edson Barboza
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Jalin Turner sends Edson Barboza to the mat for win
Jalin Turner finds himself again within the win column after an epic end of Edson Barboza at UFC 323.
End result: Turner defeats Barboza by first-round TKO
Grade: A-
Welcome again, Jalin Turner. “The Tarantula” impressively worn out Barboza in a one-sided beatdown in his return bout after a short-lived retirement. Quite than take a couple of moments to really feel one another out, Turner took a web page from the chaotic Baraniewski-Aslan battle and slugged it out with the vaunted striker as quickly because the battle started. It did not take lengthy for Turner to interrupt Barboza down with a three-punch mixture that despatched the Brazilian to the mat. Turner refused to take his foot off the gasoline and bounced quite a lot of punches off of his opponent till Barboza lastly crumbled to the canvas, securing Turner’s first victory in two years.
Gentle heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov
End result: Blachowicz vs. Guskov ends in majority draw
Grade: B+
Guskov and Blachowicz engaged in an entertaining battle the place a draw was a suitable consequence. Blachowicz owned the early portion of the battle with leg kicks, however the youthful Guskov turned the battle in his favor by dropping the previous champion with a straight proper hand and gave the impression to be on his approach to one more violent end. As a substitute, Blachowicz survived and got here again with a fiery remaining spherical that noticed him drop Guskov with seconds left of the battle. This was about as entertaining a majority draw battle as you may see.
Light-weight: Terrance McKinney vs. Chris Duncan
End result: Duncan defeats McKinney by first-round submission
Grade: B+
If we have discovered something about McKinney, it is that if an opponent can climate McKinney’s early storm, the opponent can win. Duncan was caught in a twister of punches within the opening minute however survived to rock McKinney with an elbow. Dawson adopted up with a takedown and ground-and-pound earlier than ending McKinney with an anaconda choke. By no means look away when McKinney fights; you may virtually actually miss the ending.
Males’s bantamweight: Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott
End result: Talbott defeats Cejudo by unanimous determination
Grade: B
Talbott sent Cejudo to retirement in an entertaining scrap that blended the guts of a former champion with a rising star demonstrating new wrinkles in his recreation. Talbott was glorious, taking Cejudo down within the first spherical and busting him up with strikes in Spherical 2. However Cejudo was all guts as he continued to battle regardless of being battered and bloodied. Cejudo may have checked out at any time, however he refused to fold regardless of absorbing quite a lot of punishment within the battle.
Middleweight: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trocoli
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Mansur Abdul-Malik wins through standing guillotine
Mansur Abdul-Malik kicks off UFC 323 with an unbelievable submission of Antonio Trocoli.
End result: Abdul-Malik defeats Trocoli by first-round submission
Grade: B
Abdul-Malik wasted no time imposing his will and swiftly choking out Trocoli. He set the tone by securing a takedown within the first 30 seconds. Trocoli made the error of leaving his neck open as he scrambled to his toes and was met with a decent guillotine choke. Abdul-Malik put the clamps on, and Trocoli had no alternative however to faucet out after simply over a minute of motion. Utterly one-way site visitors for Abdul-Malik.
Light-weight: Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres
End result: Torres defeats Dawson by first-round TKO
Grade: B
Torres violently halted Dawson’s momentum with a left hand in Spherical 1 of their contest. Simply because it felt that Dawson was reaching his potential as a light-weight title challenger, Torres despatched it to a crashing halt with a brief left uppercut and punctuated the win with some hammerfists. It was a formidable win for Torres, who waited patiently for Dawson to cost in earlier than he snuck within the left hand that ended the battle.
Males’s flyweight: Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira
End result: Taira defeats Moreno by second-round TKO
Grade: B-
After a gap stanza the place Taira spent many of the spherical defending a triangle choke try, the Japanese grappler went to work and picked up the most important win of his profession by stopping the previous champion Moreno. Taira shut down Moreno’s try to show it right into a putting contest with a takedown and rapidly scrambled to take the previous champion’s again. In a blink, Taira flattened Moreno out and rained down strikes, turning into the primary fighter to cease the Mexican star. It was a formidable outing for Taira, who virtually actually cemented a shot on the flyweight title with a dominant end.
Catchweight: Mairon Santos vs. Muhammad Naimov
End result: Santos defeats Naimov by third-round TKO
Grade: C+
After 10 minutes of nonaction, Santos woke the gang up by sending Naimov crashing to the canvas with a wonderfully positioned straight proper hand within the opening seconds of Spherical 3. It actually made up for the slow-paced chess match of the primary two rounds. Santos was getting the higher of the exchanges, nevertheless it gave the impression to be a battle heading to scorecards till Naimov opened Spherical 3 with aggression. That physicality was met with a proper hand that turned Naimov’s lights out.
Girls’s flyweight: Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva
End result: Barber defeats SIlva by unanimous determination
Grade: C+
This stable battle between Barber and Silva had its justifiable share of ebbs and flows. Silva chased a number of submission makes an attempt — from rear-naked chokes and heel hooks to guillotines — however Barber was resilient and located methods to show the tide. Within the first spherical, she reversed place and ended up on prime, throwing massive punches from inside Silva’s guard. She overcame an unlawful upkick in Spherical 2 to take Silva’s again and ship robust ground-and-pound. Barber continues to enhance and is inching nearer to a title battle with every efficiency.
Catchweight: Marvin Vettori vs. Brunno Ferreira
End result: Ferreira defeats Vettori by unanimous determination
Grade: C
When two grapplers find yourself putting, it is not at all times fairly. Ferreira and Vettori spent the primary two rounds on the toes as they threw looping photographs at each other. Ferreira acquired the higher of these exchanges and landed some massive photographs on the steel-chinned Vettori. They did some grappling within the remaining spherical however determined to finish the battle standing. It wasn’t technical, however Ferreira was efficient sufficient to get a win over a former title contender.
Light-weight: Farés Ziam vs. Nazim Sadykhov
End result: Ziam defeats Sadykhov by second-round TKO
Grade: C
Simply as the gang was getting stressed and filling the world with boos, Ziam abruptly ended the battle on the buzzer of Spherical 2. Ziam dominated from the start along with his grappling, nevertheless it was a miserably gradual affair that sucked the power out of T-Cellular Area. The battle was heading towards a one-sided grappling win by Ziam till the Frenchman unleashed a brief elbow within the clinch that dropped Sadykhov. Sadykhov was credited with a complete of seven strikes landed, which tells you every thing it is advisable know concerning the battle.
Males’s flyweight: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van
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Joshua Van grabs victory after Alexandre Pantoja breaks arm
After champ Alexandre Pantoja breaks his arm, the co-main occasion is stopped and Joshua Van is champion.
End result: Van defeats Pantoja by first-round TKO
Grade: Incomplete
Except you wish to see Pantoja’s grotesque harm, there is not any purpose to observe the 26-second fight between Van and Pantoja. The ending got here earlier than both fighter may get going as Pantoja got here down awkwardly on his arm whereas making an attempt to defend a takedown try from Van. An unlucky ending the place a grade will not be assigned to the battle.
UFC 323 battle card grade: B+
Outdoors of the unlucky ending to the lads’s flyweight title battle, UFC 323 was the uncommon occasion that did not have an unwatchable battle. Nothing was overtly unhealthy, and we have been handled to an exhilarating championship tilt between Yan and Dvalishvili, Baraniewski and Aslan delivering 90 seconds of mayhem and a justifiable share of finishes that actually entertained. The final PPV of 2025 ends as the most effective occasions of the 12 months.
