UFC 323 is set to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight as the promotion puts on its final numbered event of the year.
As we know, the Ultimate Fighting Championship often likes to end the year with a bang – and that’s exactly what they intend to do this evening on a night that is set to feature two world title bouts. In the main event, Merab Dvalishvili defends the bantamweight gold against Petr Yan. In the co-main, it’ll be Alexandre Pantoja defending the flyweight title against young contender Joshua Van.
There are a million and one different ways that this could go, but we can say with some confidence that UFC 323 has the potential to exceed all expectations.
Today, we are going to take a look at the main card fights for UFC 323 and let you know what we are thinking.
UFC 323 – Main Card Predictions
Merab Dvalishvili defeats Petr Yan via unanimous decision
While Yan may well have added a few more wrinkles to his game, Dvalishvili has the kind of ground control and pace that is tough for just about anyone to keep up with – which is why we feel confident in backing him to retain the belt.
Alexandre Pantoja defeats Joshua Van via second round submission
Joshua Van’s time will come at the top of the flyweight division but given his experience at this level in comparison to Pantoja, it’s hard to look past the champion leaving with the strap.
Brandon Moreno defeats Tatsuro Taira via split decision
Taira has looked really strong throughout the early stages of his UFC career but Moreno is willing to get in there and slog it out with anybody which, just about, should get him over the finish line here.
Payton Talbott defeats Henry Cejudo via third round TKO
Cejudo will want to go out in style with a win and while we do think he will win many of the grappling exchanges, this feels like the moment where Talbott goes out there and really makes a statement.
Bogdan Guskov defeats Jan Blachowicz via unanimous decision
Blachowicz is the king of making his opponents look bad and while we do think he will do that again here, Guskov has enough in his locker to edge past the Polish sensation via decision.