The MMA leader ended their Pay-Per-View era (in the US) with a bang. Seven of the nine preliminary bouts at UFC 323 ended in a finish, five of which came in the first round. The main card then gave us a youth movement with Payton Talbott, Tatsuro Taira and Joshua Van all raising their hands. Finally, what a fight to end the night. Petr Yan accomplished the impossible and killed the beast: Merab Dvalishvili, who tried to write history. Let’s take a look at what’s next for the winners of the latest Pay-Per-View (for at least the next seven years!).
Peter Jan
While Merab Dvalishvili tried to accomplish something that had never been done before, it was Petr Yan who ultimately made a piece of history. Before UFC 323, neither of the two-time champions had ever regained their title after overcoming a three-fight losing streak. The man who was near the top of the pound-for-pound list in 2021 incomprehensibly threw away his belt with a stupid illegal strike. He then lost consecutive split decisions that were each a few strokes away from going his way. That skid was surpassed by Dvalishvili, who thoroughly defeated him and left him blank on the scorecards. At that point, ‘No Mercy’ was already two years removed from losing its title and looking further away from it than ever. Years of specific training and game planning for an eventual rematch with the Georgian ‘Machine’ finally paid off on Saturday as Yan put in one of the best performances in a title fight by a challenger in recent memory. He defeated Goliath, killed the dragon, whatever you want to call it.
As Yan will undoubtedly rocket up the pound-for-pound list, he should know the job isn’t done yet. Yes, Umar Nurmagomedov and Sean O’Malley could come in if they get a nice win in January. However, assuming Merab’s activity remains reasonable, the two will have to meet again.
Yan’s next fight: Merab Dvalishvili
Joshua Van
Some may refuse to consider this a legitimate victory for Joshua Van, but on paper the 24-year-old from Myanmar is your new flyweight champion. This anticlimactic ending has unfortunately thrown cold water on what has been a phenomenal year for Van. Time will tell if Pantoja can heal and turn around in time to reasonably be Van’s next opponent. If he can do that, there’s no reason not to just wait and rebook it. If not, Van should fight Tatsuro Taira next. I understand that there will be a lot of people on the Kyoji Horiguchi train, but I would prefer Kyoji to win another fight because I don’t see a win over Tagir Ulanbekov warranting a title shot. The man who could join this conversation is Manel Kape, should he put in a standout performance against Brandon Royval this weekend.
Van’s next fight: Alexandre Pantoja, if available (or Tatsuro Taira)
Tatsuro Taira
Say what you want about the stoppage, Taira acted and looked like a million bucks. While I think referee Mark Smtih stopped the action a bit early, it doesn’t affect my view of the fight as I personally don’t think it affected the outcome of the fight. Brandon Moreno grabbed a triangle in the first round and held it almost the entire time. But Taira stayed calm, defended the submission attempt and got out of it. As soon as round 2 started, it was all Taira. After learning valuable lessons from his pentathlon with Royval last fall, the Japanese top prospect appears to be putting it all together, which is a scary thought for the rest of the division considering he’s still only 25.
With Pantoja’s timeline still unclear, I can’t say who the champion will be by the time Taira gets his title shot, but one thing is clear in my mind: his next fight should be for a title shot.
Taira’s next fight: title shot
Payton Talbott
What a way for Payton Talbott to end 2025. The man who laid an egg as -1000 betting favorite against Raoni Barcelos in January defeated Henry Cejudo. After surrendering eight takedowns to Barcelos earlier this year, Talbott’s stock took a huge hit. So much so that he was the underdog in his next fight against Felipe Lima. He looked much better in that win in June and even more so after thrashing former doubles champion Cejudo. A tough start to the year, but it now feels like we can hit a rocket ship with the 27-year-old who has shown huge improvements in such a short space of time.
The UFC appears to be looking for stars as they look to attract viewers to kick off their new broadcast deal with Paramount. Talbott seems to have star potential, so I imagine the promotion will be focused on giving him fights that would favor him on paper. Someone like Marlon Vera, who is losing, or Rob Font, who is 38, could make sense. I wouldn’t hate a Barcelos rematch. They could also try to get him Sean O’Malley, a fellow star who has hinted he might leave the sport sooner rather than later, but that might be too much too soon. That’s why I like the idea of matching him with Aiemann Zahabi. The Canadian is in the top 10, on a win streak, but is 38 and has arguably lost his last two fights.
Talbott’s next fight: Aiemann Zahabi
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