One more UFC pay-per-view means one more Merab Dvalishvili title fight in 2025. This Saturday, UFC 323 closes out MMA’s marquee slate ahead of the promotion’s big move to Paramount and CBS in 2026. Ending the pay-per-view model’s 32-year run will be a double-header of title fights featuring two of the sport’s greatest champions. In the main event, reigning bantamweight king Dvalishvili seeks history with his fourth title defense of the year — a feat never before accomplished in the UFC. Standing in his way is past foe and fellow former champion, Petr Yan.The evening’s co-main event showcases another of 2025’s brightest active stars, Joshua Van, who aims to become a world champion at just 25 years old. Van will be tested unlike ever before as he meets the surging flyweight kingpin, Alexandre Pantoja, who could add a fifth title defense to his impressive run.UFC 323 is a bit scattered in intrigue throughout its appetizer portion. From an odds perspective, the main card isn’t expected to be too competitive. Though for one last hurrah with ESPN, the UFC could have done far worse — as we’ve seen plenty of times throughout the final year of this partnership.👑 UFC 323’s lineup Crown grade: B+. 👑Betting odds via BetMGM.Oh, who’s that in the lead with one event to go? (Joseph Raines, Yahoo Sports.)Will Petr Yan find a way to show Merab “No Mercy”?Chris Unger via Getty Images135 pounds: (C) Merab Dvalishvili (-450) vs. Petr Yan (+350)We’ve reached the point in the Dvalishvili reign of terror where someone’s best hope to beat him may come from him trying to have too much fun. The Georgian has improved his striking skills plenty since he first defeated Yan in 2023. So getting too comfortable on the feet is the only way I see him falling short in the sequel.Dvalishvili embodied his relentless “Machine” moniker to its fullest against Yan in their first meeting. Across 25 minutes, Dvalishvili set a seemingly impossible standard by attempting a whopping 49 takedowns. He landed 11 of those, which is a high metric in its own right. There was nothing Yan could do to stop the now-champion.Yan has since spoken openly about the broken hand he battled through in the fight. While that’s a reasonable limitation to deal with, how much it should be a factor for a performance that saw him outgrappled with relative ease is hard to say. I tend to believe he would have lost regardless. The difference in the rematch will be a healthy Yan down the stretch — should the fight go long.It’s no secret that Yan has been a slow starter throughout his career, but once warmed up he’s as dangerous as anyone. Dvalishvili will never slow. That much is fact, but he’s shown he gets more comfortable with a lead, which could be problematic if he starts striking with Yan. As much as Dvalishvili has improved, he’s still levels below Yan in boxing, specifically. And eventually, you would think all this activity will catch up with him.I’m not sold on that latter note happening now, only because we’ve seen this song and dance between these two. Dvalishvili has simply been that dude.Pick: Dvalishvili135 pounds: (C) Alexandre Pantoja (-235) vs. Joshua Van (+190)Van will need to be “Fearless” when he meets the “Cannibal” Pantoja.There’s no logical reason to expect what would be a monumental Van upset in this matchup. The oddsmakers are wildly disrespecting the champion by making their moneylines as close as they are.Van has proven to be a legitimately uber-talented striker with some of the best hands in the 125-pound class. There’s a very good argument to be made that he could be technically better than Pantoja. It helps that he has that dog, as he “out-dogged” Brandon Royval in a Fight of the Year contender to earn this title shot. However, it’s easy to forget that Van was likely going to lose until he scored a late knockdown. It was wildly competitive and mostly a stand-up war.Pantoja is one of the smartest fighters on Earth today, and it’s resulted in a healthy title reign. Few, if any, can outscramble Pantoja once he pursues a takedown, and once caught in his traps, it’s hell trying to escape. Van just lacks too much experience — and according to him, a proper game plan — to overcome someone as supremely well-rounded as the champion.It’s another case of Van’s chances increasing as the fight goes on, simply so he can land a kill shot. But this matchup feels tailor-made for another Pantoja submission win akin to his previous two defenses.Pick: Pantoja125 pounds: Brandon Moreno (+100) vs. Tatsuro Taira (-120)Sticking with the flyweight division, we have here a very similar situation to the title fight. The former two-time champion Brandon Moreno looks to maintain his spot among the higher elite of 125 pounds against youthful contender Tatsuro Taira.In a parallel universe, this is the title fight at UFC 323.No matter the universe, I’m taking the experienced championship-caliber fighter. Taira is a supremely talented, likely future titleholder. His grappling skills are light-years beyond his age of 25. But on the feet, Moreno continues to sharpen his already refined toolbox, dispatching top contenders like Steve Erceg and Amir Albazi.Strike for strike, Taira won’t be able to match Moreno. He’ll seek any takedown or grappling exchange he can find. Even once he gets there, Moreno is a talented scrambler in his own right, capable of flowing with momentum.Realistically, this can look nearly identical to Taira’s lone career loss to Brandon Royval last year — just condensed down to three rounds.Pick: MorenoHenry Cejudo is looking to go out on a high note after a rough trip to Seattle in February. (Steven Bisig-Imagn Images)USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect / Reuters135 pounds: Henry Cejudo (+240) vs. Payton Talbott (-300)How the world forgets what we saw at the start of the year.Fast-track attempts don’t get more blatant than pairing a 10-1 prospect Payton Talbott with former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. At 38, Cejudo clearly has lost a step from his days atop the bantamweight and flyweight divisions before he retired in 2020. He’s lost three straight since he returned in 2023 — but only to the cream of the crop.Forget all the history and accolade differences in this matchup between the two. Talbott was outgrappled by a 38-year-old Raoni Barcelos in January. He’s an objectively worse wrestler than an Olympic gold medalist Cejudo, who has been fighting at the highest level of the sport for longer than Talbott has been a pro.These odds boggle my mind. Outside of a Talbott flurry that catches Cejudo, he’s in for another rude awakening, especially since he’ll be entering the pocket and closing the distance, giving Cejudo exactly what he’ll want. Pick: Cejudo205 pounds: Jan Błachowicz (-135) vs. Bogdan Guskov (+110)I’m officially on the Bogdan Guskov hype train after his knockout of Nikita Krylov in July. Krylov has been notoriously durable, and despite that fact, Guskov laid the bricks to “The Miner,” maintaining his trend of exclusively winning via finish.On the other hand, former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz has also been a notoriously durable competitor. Only finished by strikes twice in 41 fights, the man has a concrete chin. However, he’s been incredibly inactive since 2022, and Father Time is against him. Now 42, Blachowicz looked slower than ever in his return from a two-year layoff against Carlos Ulberg in March. He put up a better fight than maybe most expected, surviving a finish from one of the division’s top contenders. Guskov has just been danger from the jump, and gained valuable experience in Blachowicz’s absence.Blachowicz will have to rely on his reliable wrestling game while avoiding the death blows of Guskov.Pick: GuskovPreliminary NotesMaycee Barber is quietly returning to action after her last-minute withdrawal from her Erin Blanchfield main event in May, like nothing ever happened. Despite the drama and turmoil, Barber has come into her own on the winning streak she currently rides. Karine Silva will be no easy obstacle to overcome, but Barber’s killer instinct has arguably been the biggest attribute setting her apart from opponents since she arrived in the UFC.Returning in different ways will be both Jalin Turner and Edson Barboza. The former ends his brief retirement while the latter returns to lightweight after his time at 145 pounds.Terrance McKinney is the most “get or get got” fighter of all time, so tune in for the handful of seconds that his fight lasts.Quick picksGrant Dawson (-210) def. Manuel Torres (+170)Terrance McKinney (+145) def. Chris Duncan (-180)Maycee Barber (-185) def. Karine Silva (+150)Nazim Sadykhov (+110) def. Farès Ziam (-135)Marvin Vettori (-115) def. Brunno Ferreira (-105)Jalin Turner (-300) def. Edson Barboza (+240)Iwo Baraniewski (-200) def. İbo Aslan (+165)Mansur Abdul-Malik (-1200) def. Antonio Trócoli (+750)Muhammad Naimov (+200) def. Mairon Santos (-250)