play0:32Joshua Van grabs victory after Alexandre Pantoja breaks armAfter champ Alexandre Pantoja breaks his arm, the co-main event is stopped and Joshua Van is champion.
Brett OkamotoDec 7, 2025, 02:30 PM ETCloseBrett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: “Chuck and Tito,” which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.Follow on X
Petr Yan completes stunning win over Merab Dvalishvili (1:59)Petr Yan somehow pulls off the stunning upset in the main event of UFC 323 to defeat Merab Dvalishvili. (1:59)
Joshua Van grabs victory after Alexandre Pantoja breaks armAfter champ Alexandre Pantoja breaks his arm, the co-main event is stopped and Joshua Van is champion.
After champ Alexandre Pantoja breaks his arm, the co-main event is stopped and Joshua Van is champion.
But at men’s bantamweight, there only seems to be one real option for new title-holder Petr Yan, and that’s a trilogy fight against Merab Dvalishvili.
A large portion of the UFC fanbase will flip out if O’Malley is Yan’s first title defense. I will say, I don’t think it’s likely, but no one should think it’s out of the question. O’Malley already owns a win over Yan, earning a split decision on the scorecards after a closely contested fight in October 2022.
Dvalishvili tried to make history, by taking a risk many champions would never even consider. He put his championship on the line for what would have been a record-breaking fourth defense, had he been successful. It didn’t go his way, but the sport loves this stuff. MMA loves when champions, or anyone, goes for greatness. Not only is he deserving of an immediate rematch based on rankings, he’s deserving because of the risk he took as the champ.
If Nurmagomedov beats Figueiredo at UFC 324, I don’t love matching Dvalishvili with Nurmagomedov next, because Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov feels like a title fight. Yan vs. Nurmagomedov also feels like a title fight. If Nurmagomedov wins in January, he should be fighting for a belt again. But the UFC books fights, and Dvalishvili likes to be active.
Joshua Van grabs victory after Alexandre Pantoja breaks arm
I have to throw this matchup out there, but it’s highly unlikely. Blanchfield is well within her rights to turn it down after Barber pulled out of both their previously scheduled bouts — first in 2021 and then again in May. However, because of that, there is history, and it seems the fight will get booked again at some point.
Both championship belts that were up for grabs at UFC 323 changed hands after long reigns, so it won’t be surprising to find out we’ve got rematch talk on the brain a day later. It feels unjust that we likely won’t get an immediate redo of Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja because Pantoja was injured in their short tussle on Saturday and could be out for some time. It does mean the door is now open for an intriguing matchup in Van’s first championship defense against another young star in the making, Tatsuro Taira.
The UFC has to do the trilogy, and it can’t wait. There are other intriguing matchups at men’s bantamweight and — don’t yell at me here; I’m just stating facts — if Sean O’Malley beats Song Yadong in January, cuts a promo after saying he wants a title match and Yan wants to fight O’Malley, too, that fight can’t be ruled out. But clearly, Dvalishvili, who was competing for the fourth time this year on Saturday, deserves the chance to reclaim the title immediately. He and Yan are the two best bantamweights in the world. They’re 1-1. Dvalishvili is 34 years old and Yan is 32, so any kind of delay favors the younger Yan, which doesn’t feel fair. Book the trilogy.
The best answer here is Alexandre Pantoja, but the expectation is that Pantoja, who was injured in the first round of Saturday’s co-main event, won’t be available for the immediate future. That’s simply awful news for Pantoja, but this division is deep enough to move forward with super compelling matchups while Pantoja heals. Taira, who stopped former champion Brandon Moreno in the second round on Saturday, is another young talent who has flashed world-class skill. A title fight between two mid-20s phenoms would be intriguing.
If Kape beats Brandon Royval in the final main event of 2025 next week, especially if he does so convincingly, there’s a chance he could be in the title conversation. But even in Kape’s best-case scenario, it’s hard to see him jumping Taira. Kape has always been a dangerous dark horse in this division, and his time seems to be approaching. He has a championship-caliber skillset. He just needs to put it together consistently for an extended period of time. If the right dominoes were to fall his way and he beats former title challenger Royval on Dec. 13, it’s possible his next bout could be against Van.
If any fighter has gone through her share of ups and downs, it’s Barber. She had injuries, canceled fights and early-career losses that threatened to derail her hype, but she’s in a good place, following this legitimate win over Karine Silva. Because it’s been such a long road already, there is no reason I can find not to elevate Barber to the very top. She was already ranked No. 5 by the UFC coming into Saturday, and the No. 1 flyweight, Fiorot, needs a fight. She’s coming off a win over Jasmine Jasudavicius in October, but she’s not in title talks at the moment because of her loss to champion Valentina Shevchenko in May. This is an obvious matchup for both sides.
Petr Yan completes stunning win over Merab Dvalishvili (1:59)Petr Yan somehow pulls off the stunning upset in the main event of UFC 323 to defeat Merab Dvalishvili. (1:59)
Petr Yan somehow pulls off the stunning upset in the main event of UFC 323 to defeat Merab Dvalishvili. (1:59)
CloseBrett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: “Chuck and Tito,” which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.Follow on X
Let’s break down those and more scenarios for the big winners and losers at UFC 323.
Wild card: Winner of Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo on Jan. 24
If the UFC wants to go a more traditional route, Zahabi is a clear candidate.