The UFC’s bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili, will step into the Octagon at UFC 323 with yet his latest chance to prove he’s almost unbeatable.
He’ll be trying to defend his UFC bantamweight title for the fourth straight time in a rematch against Petr Yan, and a loss would be Dvalishvili’s first since April 2018, when he suffered a defeat to Ricky Simon by guillotine choke.
Now he’s won 14 in a row, a streak that includes a victory over Yan by unanimous decision in 2023 and victories over luminaries such as Jose Aldo, Henry Cejudo and two against Sean O’Malley.
But for all of Dvalishvili’s dominance and charisma, he’s not necessarily a crowd-pleaser. Primarily a grappler, Dvalishvili (21-4, KOs) holds the UFC all-time record for takedowns with 117. But he has only one knockout during his 14-match winning streak.
USA TODAY Sports has everything you need to enjoy UFC 323, including updates, highlights and analysis:
UFC 323: Time, PPV, streaming for Dvalishvili vs Yan
The highly anticipated rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan will take place on Saturday, Dec. 6 and can be purchased on ESPN+ PPV.
Date: Saturday, Dec. 6
Location: T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, NV)
Early Prelims start time: 6 p.m. ET
Early Prelims card TV: FX; Prelims stream: ESPN+, Disney+
Prelims card start time: 8 p.m. ET
Prelims card TV: ESPN2/FX; Prelims stream: ESPN+, Disney+
Main card start time: 10 p.m. ET
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UFC 323 results: Prelims
Fares Ziam def. Nazim Sadykhov by TKO (2nd rd), lightweight
UFC 323 results: Early Prelims
Brunno Ferreira def. Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision, middleweight
Jalin Turner def. Edson Barboza by TKO (1st rd), lightweight
Iwo Baraniewski def. Ibo Aslan KO (1st rd), light heavyweight
Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Antonio Trocoli by submission (guillotine choke/1st rd), middleweight
Mairon Santos def. Muhammad Naimov by TKO (3rd rd), featherweight
UFC 323 predictions: Dvalishvili vs. Yan expert picks
Sporting News: Merab via unanimous decision
Daniel Yanofsky writes: ‘Has Yan improved his takedown defense (85%) since the last fight? Even against other opponents, they aren’t on the same level as Merab. Even if injuries may have affected Yan last time, it appears nothing can stop Merab, especially on the floor. Expect the same result here.’
Action Network: Merab Dvalishvili
Billy Ward writes: ‘With the champion only about two years older than the challenger, it’s also hard to say that time could be the equalizer here, as both men are in roughly the same stage of their careers. For all of those reasons, the roughly four-to-one odds on ‘The Machine’ to retain his title feel about right.’
Score and Stats: Merab Dvalishvili
Rick Rockwell writes: ‘You can throw caution to the wind and bet on a KO upset, but I don’t see it happening. Merab wins with defense, timing, pacing, and suffocating wrestling. Yan didn’t have an answer for that in 2023, and he won’t have an answer for it now.’
UFC 323 odds: Dvalishvili vs. Yan fight
Odds via BetMGM as of Thursday.
Merab Dvalishvili (-500) vs. Petr Yan (+340); For bantamweight title
UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs. Yan fight card
Fight card according to ESPN:
Fight card according to ESPN.
Main Card:
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan; For bantamweight title
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van; For flyweight title
Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira; Flyweight
Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott; Lightweight
Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov; Bantamweight
Prelims:
Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres; Lightweight
Chris Duncan vs. Terrance McKinney; Lightweight
Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva; Women’s flyweight
Nazim Sadykhov vs. Fares Ziam; Lightweight
Early Prelims:
Marvin Vettori vs. Brunno Ferreira; Middleweight
Edson Barboza vs. Jalin Turner; Lightweight
Ibo Aslan vs. Iwo Baraniewski; Light Heavyweight
Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trocoli; Middleweight
Muhammad Naimov vs. Mairon Santos; Featherweight
UFC 323 preliminary and main card start times
Here are your start times.
Early Prelims: 6 p.m. ET (FX, ESPN+, Disney+)
Prelims: 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2, FX, ESPN+, Disney+)
Main card: 10 p.m. ET (PPV on ESPN+)
UFC 324 moves to Paramount+, ending PPV era for UFC
After UFC 323, the organization now moves on from its PPV model with ESPN and ESPN+. With its seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount, the promise is upwards of 40 UFC events a year. It all begins in 2026 with UFC 324 on Jan. 24, which will broadcast on streaming service Paramount+.
UFC 323 odds: Merab Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan full card
Fight card according to ESPN: Odds via BetMGM as of Thursday.
Main Card:
Merab Dvalishvili (-500) vs. Petr Yan (+340); For bantamweight title
Alexandre Pantoja (-265) vs. Joshua Van (+200); For flyweight title
Brandon Moreno (+110) vs. Tatsuro Taira (-140); Flyweight
Henry Cejudo (+200) vs. Payton Talbott (-265); Lightweight
Jan Blachowicz (-140) vs. Bogdan Guskov (+110); Bantamweight
Prelims:
Grant Dawson (-235) vs. Manuel Torres (+180); Lightweight
Chris Duncan (-195) vs. Terrance McKinney (+150); Lightweight
Maycee Barber (-180) vs. Karine Silva (+140); Women’s flyweight
Nazim Sadykhov (+115) vs. Fares Ziam (-145); Lightweight
Early Prelims:
Marvin Vettori (-120) vs. Brunno Ferreira (-110); Middleweight
Edson Barboza (+200) vs. Jalin Turner (-265); Lightweight
Ibo Aslan (+165) vs. Iwo Baraniewski (-215); Light Heavyweight
Mansur Abdul-Malik (-1000) vs. Antonio Trocoli (+560); Middleweight
Muhammad Naimov (+220) vs. Mairon Santos (+295); Featherweight
Ring walk time for Dvalishvili and Yan main event
The Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan fight card consists of 14 fights and will begin at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 6, 2025, with early prelim fights. The main event for the Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan fight is expected to be around 11:30 p.m. ET. However, the duration of the undercard will impact the actual start.
Where is UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs Yan?
UFC 323: Merab Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025.
UFC 323 live stream
The Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan prelims and early prelims fights will be available to stream on ESPN+ and Disney+, while the main card will be streamed on ESPN Pay-Per-View.
UFC 323 price
UFC events are available to ESPN+ subscribers. The cost of the service is $10.99 a month or $109.99 for the year. The PPV is available for an additional $79.99.