The UFC presented its final pay-per-view on Saturday night as UFC 323 took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The company went out with a bang before its $7.7 billion move to streaming giant Paramount+, with two titles on the line in Sin City.
In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja put his flyweight title on the line against Joshua Van, before Merab Dvalishvili defended his bantamweight crown against Petr Yan in the evening’s headline contest.
Below is a look at all the action from the main bouts, together with the salaries for selected fighters on the card.
Petr Yan Stuns Merab Dvalishvili in UFC 323 Main Event
Heading into Saturday’s event, 135lbs titleholder Merab was unbeaten in 14 fights inside the Octagon, including a March 2023 victory over his UFC 323 opponent, Yan. As a result, the 34-year-old was a heavy favourite to get the job done again against the Russian.
However, Yan had other ideas. The defending champion started the five-round headliner in strong fashion, winning the session on each of the judges’ scorecards. Worryingly, though, for Merab, he saw all eight of his first round takedown attempts stuffed by Yan.
After the opening round, Yan found success with takedowns of his own in every frame that followed, including a thunderous slam in the third. When the action returned to the feet, Petr consistently found the target with strikes, relentlessly tagging the Georgian and leaving him bleeding from the nose.
While Dvalishvili certainly had moments of his own in the fight, few argued with the 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 scorecards in Yan’s favour that Bruce Buffer read out at the conclusion of the contest.
Merab earned a total of $1,592,000 for his efforts, with new champion Yan walking away with a tidy $932,000, as well as the bantamweight strap.
Alexandre Pantoja vs Joshua Van at UFC 323 Lasted Just 26 Seconds
A freak injury saw that co-main event of UFC 323 end up as one of the shortest fights of the year inside the Octagon. Much like Dvalishvili, Pantoja came into the pay-per-view as a long-term champion, this time of the 125lbs division. The 35-year-old Brazilian had reigned since July 2023, and racked up four title defences since.
Understandably, 24-year-old Van entered the cage as an underdog. Unfortunately, the bout lasted only 26 seconds, and provided more questions than answers as a result.
Early in the first round, the champion threw a high kick that was caught by Van. The challenger then threw Pantoja to the mat, at which point it became apparent that something was very wrong.
Almost instantly, referee Herb Dean stepped in to wave off the contest, meaning that Van won the title in the most bizarre circumstances. After the fight, UFC backstage reporter, Megan Olivi, confirmed that she had been told that Pantoja sustained a