The ultimate UFC pay-per-view occasion of the ESPN period produced an exhilarating night time of fights at T-Cell Area in Las Vegas, with two new champions on the prime of the struggle card.
UFC 323 Energy Rankings
RDX Sports activities Editor-in-Chief and veteran combined martial arts author Simon Head seems on the winners of the primary card and presents his energy rankings for UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs. Yan 2.
petr yan
Anytime a fighter wins a UFC title, it is a special day. It positively makes it much more particular to see a former champion come again and take again his previous belt. However for Petr Yan, Saturday night time’s victory was on a complete different degree.
Yan misplaced the title to Aljamain Sterling by disqualification, however gained the interim belt and had a rematch, however misplaced once more to Sterling. At that time, he felt like he had a mountain to climb to get again on the belt.
However when the scorecards confirmed three losses to Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, that mountain seemed as large as Mount Everest.
However Yang by no means misplaced his expertise and returned a yr later to win three straight, defeating Music Yadong, Deiveson Figueiredo and Marcus McGee to earn one other shot at gold.
Standing in his means was Dvalishvili, who defeated him of their first assembly. However within the rematch, Yan put in the very best efficiency of his profession, neutralizing the Georgian’s relentless takedown assaults and punishing him on the toes with educated boxing.
It was an awesome efficiency, probably the greatest we have seen so removed from the 2025 title challenger.
Tatsuro Taira
With a brand new champion being topped at 125 kilos (see under) and a former champion prone to be out of motion for some time, the door is open for a brand new contender to step in and problem for the belt. Hirataro could also be that man.
Taira placed on an awesome efficiency in his largest UFC struggle up to now, defeating former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno by second-round TKO. It was a efficiency that proved the Japanese contestant was prepared to shut the hole between the chasing pack and the heavyweights on the prime of the 125-pound division.
Taira served as Octagon aspect for Joshua Bunn’s title shot within the co-main occasion, and Joe Rogan name-checked the Japanese star in Bunn’s post-fight interview. There’s a very excessive chance {that a} match between the 2 will happen, and the UFC is believed to be contemplating a return to Japan in 2026, so there’s a chance that the struggle will happen in Taira’s house nation.
Joshua Vann
Profitable a UFC title often ensures the next spot on the ability rankings checklist, however the way in which Bang gained championship gold was removed from excellent for the Myanmar-born, Texas-based fighter.
Vann’s rise has made him a preferred presence on the prime of the flyweight division, however his victory over Alexandra Pantoja was the results of a freak damage moderately than Vann’s MMA excellence. Sadly, that meant that what was alleged to be an awesome and memorable victory turned out to be an virtually fortuitous victory.
Pantoja injured his arm simply 26 seconds into the struggle, and the champion misplaced by TKO as a result of damage and was unable to proceed. And when one man loses by damage TKO, one other one wins the identical means. That man was Van, who celebrated successful the title in no matter type it took.
However now Van has to defend his belt and it seems just like the aforementioned Taira is in pole place to problem him first. Maybe an awesome efficiency from Brandon Roybal or Manel Cape on this weekend’s foremost occasion will change that plan.
Vann is the brand new champion, however I believe some followers would love him to win a title struggle in a extra acceptable means.
Peyton Talbot
The primary card’s bantamweight bout between Henry Cejudo and Peyton Talbot was the previous two-division UFC champion’s farewell struggle. However, as is usually the case in martial arts, he did not get an opportunity to win.
Peyton Talbot has leveled up his sport to match or surpass Cejudo, who was not on the similar degree he was when he gained the bantamweight and flyweight titles. But it surely was nonetheless Henry Cejudo, and Talbot did not let his respect for the retiring legend get in the way in which of the job at hand, operating out the decisive winners on the scorecards and claiming a shutout victory, enhancing his file to 11-1.
This win, mixed with Cejudo’s subsequent retirement, ought to propel Talbot into the UFC bantamweight rankings because the Reno native opens a brand new chapter in 2026.
Simon Head is the Editor-in-Chief of RDX Sports activities, a famend martial arts tools firm. Take a look at the most recent lineup MMA struggle put on at present.
