Former UFC champion Henry Cejudo adds a stacked UFC 323 pay-per-view card on December 6 in Las Vegas.
UFC 323 will mark the final pay-per-view card for the promotion for the foreseeable future, as the UFC prepares to move on from its longstanding model ahead of its broadcast to Paramount+ in 2026. The UFC/ESPN partnership will conclude with a slate of intriguing events, headlined by UFC 323 in Las Vegas.
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili will headline UFC 323 in a rematch against former titleholder Petr Yan. They will return it to the Octagon, more than two years after their record-breaking fight, in which Dvalishvili won by unanimous decision.
UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja co-headlines against rising contender Joshua Van in his latest title defense. UFC CEO Dana White announced the fights on Instagram on Mondayincluding the upcoming return of one of the division’s legendary names.
Henry Cejudo will face the rising star at UFC 323 on December 6
White announced that former UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo will return at UFC 323 for his first fight since a technical decision loss at UFC Seattle earlier this year. Cejudo will face rising star Payton Talbott in a pivotal fight for the bantamweight division.
Cejudo is coming off a controversial loss to Song Yadong at UFC Seattle and hasn’t won since returning to the Octagon in 2022. He abruptly retired and vacated the UFC bantamweight title after a win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.
Since returning to UFC 288 in a loss to then-bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, Cejudo has lost consecutive fights to Dvalishvili and Yadong. Meanwhile, Talbott returns at UFC 323 after rebounding from his first career loss at UFC 317.
Talbott dropped a unanimous decision to Raoni Barcelos at UFC 311 before defeating Felipe Lima at UFC 317. Contender series by Dana White alum is a dangerous test for Cejudo, with one-punch knockout power paired with smooth wrestling.
Talbott has a shot at securing a spot in the Bantamweight Top 15 with his upcoming fight against Cejudo. Meanwhile, Cejudo is looking to snap his current skid and get back into the UFC bantamweight title mix.
The full slate for UFC 323 is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
#Henry #Cejudo #returns #UFC #rising #bantamweight #star #BJPenn.com