UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs. Yan 2 delivered a historic night at T-Mobile Arena as Myanmar’s Joshua Van became the first Asian male UFC champion and the second-youngest titleholder in company history. The event aired live across Asia on Sunday and drew 18,603 fans, generating a gate of $4.7 million.
In the main event, Petr Yan reclaimed the UFC bantamweight championship with a high-paced, five-round war against Merab Dvalishvili. Yan showcased sharp striking and takedown defense, earning a unanimous decision. “I worked so hard for this moment,” Yan said. “UFC changed my life.”
The co-main event ended abruptly when Alexandre Pantoja suffered an elbow injury after being tossed during an exchange with Van. The referee waved off the fight at 26 seconds of Round 1, crowning Van the new flyweight champion. “Now the world will never forget Joshua Van,” he said. “To the people of Myanmar — now the world will know of us.”
Japan’s Tatsuro Taira also made a major statement on the main card. The flyweight contender finished former champion Brandon Moreno by second-round TKO, positioning himself for a future title shot. “UFC, please give me the title shot,” Taira said.
The event also included the retirement announcement of former double champion Henry Cejudo.
Fight of the Night: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan
Performance Bonuses: Manuel Torres, Iwo Baraniewski
UFC 323: Official Results
UFC Bantamweight Championship
• Petr Yan def. Merab Dvalishvili (UD — 49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
UFC Flyweight Championship
• Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja (TKO, R1, 0:26)
Main Card
• Tatsuro Taira def. Brandon Moreno (TKO, R2, 2:24)
• Payton Talbott def. Henry Cejudo (UD — 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Jan Błachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov (Majority Draw — 29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
Prelims
• Manuel Torres def. Grant Dawson (TKO, R1, 2:25)
• Chris Duncan def. Terrance McKinney (Submission — anaconda choke, R1, 2:30)
• Maycee Barber def. Karine Silva (UD — 30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Fares Ziam def. Nazim Sadykhov (TKO, R2, 4:59)
• Brunno Ferreira def. Marvin Vettori (UD — 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jalin Turner def. Edson Barboza (TKO, R1, 2:24)
• Iwo Baraniewski def. Ibo Aslan (KO, R1, 1:29)
• Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Antonio Trocoli (Submission — guillotine choke, R1, 1:09)
• Mairon Santos def. Muhammad Naimov (TKO, R3, 0:21)
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