UFC 323 Prediction (06-12-2025)

UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs. Yan 2 is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on December 6, 2025, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States.

This will be the UFC’s last pay-per-view (PPV) event before its new media deal with Paramount Skydance takes effect in 2026, as the numbered events will instead be available to stream at no additional cost on Paramount+ in the U.S. starting next year. The PPV model has been a hallmark of the promotion since its inception in 1993 and has been especially emphasized during the organization’s seven-year broadcast partnership with ESPN.

A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Merab Dvalishvili and former champion Petr Yan is expected to headline the event. A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Alexandre Pantoja and Joshua Van is expected to serve as the co-main event.

Also former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno will fight against one of the hottest MMA prospects Tatsuro Taira. Today, we will be reviewing all these three mentioned fights in this article.

If you plan to bet, make sure to look for the best odds at trusted bookmakers.

Second-ranked UFC flyweight Brandon Moreno returns to the action for the second time this year. The former champion lost the belt in July 2023 when he fought against Alexandre Pantoja, who is still the champion to this day. In a thrilling fight, both gentlemen showed incredible cardio and big hearts throughout the bout, which eventually earned them fight of the night bonuses.

The Mexican did not wait too long and fought Brandon Royval for a #1 contender spot and suffered another decision defeat, and for the first time, 2 consecutive losses in his MMA career.

But once again, B.Moreno showed us his unbreakable character and returned to the winning column quickly with a dominant win over Amir Albazi, with two judges giving him all 5 rounds (50-45).

The Baby Assassin started this year with a win versus former #1 title contender Steven Erceg and collected his 23th pro MMA and 11th UFC win of his career.

Tatsuro Taira has been with the UFC organisation for over 3 years and made a quick impact with a 6-fight winning streak. The Prodigy from Japan beat decorated flyweight veteran Alex Perez, which earned him a fight against Moreno’s nemesis, Brandon Royval.

For Taira it was a great chance to get closer to the title shot and become the first fighter from Asia to do so in this UFC division. The Japanese found a lot of success on the ground landing 6 takedowns and having 12 minutes of control time.

Brandon Royval was more active on the feet and landed way more significant strikes (124 vs 42). This eventually earned him a split decision win and for T.Taira it was first MMA career loss.

The Asian also already fought once this year against then undefeated Hyun Sun Park. T.Taira once again showed his grappling masterclass and finished Korean in the second round via submission.

It is hard to see this fight ending early and this one should go to the hands of the judges. This might be a very close bout, but odds suggest that B.Moreno is a slight underdog which is a bit surprising. B.Moreno has way more experience fighting elite fighters and is a former champion.

T.Taira did look great against B.Royval, but showed a lot of flaws in the striking department. B.Moreno fought a lot of decorated elite grapplers in Figueiredo and Pantoja, but was not finished by them and showed his amazing ground game too.

Alexandre Pantoja looks more and more invincible with each fight. The Brazilian is now undefeated for 5 years, including 4 successful title defenses. He has defeated Brandon Moreno for the title and defended it against such names as Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, Kai Asakura and Kai Kara-France.

What makes his run now even more impressive is the fact that A.Pantoja finished his last two opponents without making it to the 4th round. Now, 43% of his UFC career wins were by a submission, and the champion looks more dangerous than ever.

Many fans and experts might debate whether it is too early for Joshua Van to get a title shot. The Myanmar star has 9 UFC fights under his name and tasted a defeat only once. Since then, he climbed through the ranks and is now on a 5-fight winning streak.

Joshua Van showed how great he is in his last bout versus Brandon Royval, who beat almost everyone in this division except for A.Pantoja. The Fearless landed significant strikes with a whopping precision of 66% and almost finished B.Royval with a vicious combo, which ended in a knockdown.

For a 24-year-old, this might be an early title shot, and he is fighting A. Pantoja, because the Brazilian has beaten everyone in the top 5 already. His ground game and experience make him a huge favorite for this one, especially knowing that there are still many questions regarding the J.Van grappling level. The Myanmar star has 2 finishes in the UFC, both coming by a knockout, and an early KO might be his only chance to win this fight.

With a win, Dvalishvili would become the first UFC champion in history to defend a title four times in the same calendar year. The pairing previously met in March 2023 at UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili, which Dvalishvili won by unanimous decision.

Merab’s pace, insane cardio, and constant takedown attempts were too much for the Russian, and all three judges agreed on a 50-45 win to the Georgian. Many already consider Merab one of the greatest UFC bantamweights of all time, and this will be his 4th title defence.

The Machine won the belt in 2024 versus Sean O’Malley and defended it versus Umar Nurmagomedov, Cory Sandhagen, and Sean O’Malley successfully, getting one finish and 2 decision wins.

Petr Yan is a former champion himself, but can’t brag about any title defenses at the moment. The Russian won the belt back in 2020 against UFC legend Jose Aldo, but controversially lost it against Aljamain Sterling in his first title defense. From 2022 to 2023 P.Yan was on 3 fights losing streak, but now is close to returning to his old form.

From 2024 he beat former title contender Song Yadong and former division champion Deiveson Figuereido. Due to pull outs and injuries, in his last fight No Mercy was surprisingly matched with Marcus McGhee, who showed heart and avoided finish, but saw that Yan is still levels above him.

It is hard to see this fight going differently as seemingly Merab has a perfect style to beat Petr Yan. The Russian does have a decent ground and takedown defence, but Merab’s cardio is unmatched and we should be expecting another successful title defense by the Georgian.