LAS VEGAS – Unless you had a crystal ball or some sort of all-seeing eye, there’s simply no way you could have foreseen the events that unfolded at UFC 323 on Saturday. 

Four years and change removed from the last time he held a UFC belt of any kind, Petr Yan returned to bantamweight glory with a stunning and decisive upset of Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision. Dvalishvili was in search of a record-setting fourth title defense in 2025 and had sailed up the pound-for-pound rankings with his dominant year, but Yan pulled a rabbit out of his hat on Saturday and proved you can never get too comfortable in this sport.

Entering the fight, the idea that Yan had any sort of chance to win was a complete afterthought. At best, he would come out a bit more aggressive than he did in Dvalishvili’s historic dismantling of him in their first meeting in March 2023. Maybe he would even take the locomotive the distance. A win, though? Yeah, right. If anything, it felt like Dvalishvili (and the rest of us) saw Yan as one last easy stepping stone to cap off his unbelievable year.

As the old adage goes, that’s why we play the games. Or in this case, why we fight the fights. From the opening bell to the end, Yan was as aggressive and assertive as he needed to be to keep Dvalishvili on the back foot as much as possible. Merab had his moments, including a theatrical slam of Yan in the third round, but it only came after Yan landed his own slam and a series of heavy combos that set the tone and then some. 

While the fight went the distance officially, it ended in practice a bit later in the third when Yan landed a thunderous kick to Dvalishvili’s ribs. The kick sounded more like a car accident than something coming from a human leg, and if it didn’t result in any breaks, Dvalishvili could probably be considered a human flak jacket. 

Pantoja's reign ends in heartbreak

The co-main event ended in a way that was just as surprising, but far more sobering. 24-year-old Joshua Van became the UFC’s first champion born in the 2000s just 20 seconds into his highly anticipated title shot against future Hall of Famer Alexandre Pantoja, after an unsuccessful leg kick from Pantoja led to an awkward fall that snapped the champion’s arm as he tried to brace himself. Following the fight, Dana White and other UFC represenatives confirmed that it was actually a dislocation to Pantoja's shoulder that ended the fight despite what the video evidence seemed to suggest.

Not only did it rob fight fans of what was one of the most anticipated fights of the year, but it also ended one of the most respected title reigns in the entire sport, owned by Pantoja, in a downright nauseating way. Even as someone who has been enthralled with Van’s rapid rise in the sport as a Gen-Z represenative, the circumstances that crowned him champion were not nearly as rewarding as they should have been.

“Van was all bummed out,” White said. “When I got in there, he said sorry. I said, ‘Listen, there's nothing to be sorry about.’ It's a shitty way to lose the fight. There's no shitty way to win a fight. You won, it is what it is. Things happen in here and congratulations.”

The main card also saw the departure of a legend, as former double-champion Henry Cejudo fought the final fight of his career (for real, this time) against the emerging Payton Talbott, who could be well on his way to becoming a UFC champion himself. 

Following the fight, Cejudo shared a moment with Dana White and told him to take care of his young star in Talbott.

“It’s time,” Cejudo told White. “I just showed it. Take care of this kid (Talbott), I love him man. He f**cked me up.”