Merab Dvalishvili looks for his fourth title defence of 2025 when he faces Petr Yan in the UFC 323 main event on Saturday.
The pre-fight narrative: This will be a rematch of a 2022 fight in which Dvalishvili won by dominant decision. The stakes are even higher this time around as the bantamweight title is on the line. Before that, look for both Tatsuro Taira and Payton Talbott to win their main card bouts.
Check out the odds, fight card and my UFC 323 predictions for the Dec. 6 event in Las Vegas.
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UFC 323 predictions
Best bet: Taira to win (-127)
I'm buying into the hype with this pick. Taira, 25, is coming off his best performance in the UFC.
He beat the undefeated Hyun Sung Park by submission in the second round (neck crank) and took his opponent down four times in the six-minute bout.
That's where he's most effective. His grappling is world-class, which allows him to win fights by decision when the finish isn't available.
On Saturday, he will be tested, facing off against a former champion in Brandon Moreno.
The Mexican fighter has just three UFC losses (two by split decision) in 13 fights and has won back-to-back fights entering Saturday.
-> Check out full Moreno vs. Taira betting markets
It won't be an easy task, but I predict Taira will pull ahead with his wrestling. Moreno was taken down six times when he lost his belt to Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290.
Taira might be an even better grappler than Pantoja, and he improves each time he steps into the cage. He has 10 takedowns across his last two fights.
I'm betting on his skills, but fans should also see more improvement with another training camp to get better.
The Japanese star is good on the feet, too, with a 60% strike accuracy. Taira has more paths to victory in this matchup, so I'll gladly take him to win at a playable price.
Key stat: Taira is 7-1 in the UFC since the start of 2022.
UFC 323 fight card and odds
| Fighter | Odds | Weight class | Odds | Fighter |
| Merab Dvalishvili (C) | -455 | Bantamweight | +340 | Petr Yan (3) |
| Alexandre Pantoja (C) | -250 | Flyweight | +195 | Joshua Van (1) |
| Brandon Moreno (2) | +102 | Flyweight | -127 | Tatsuro Taira (5) |
| Henry Cejudo (11) | +215 | Bantamweight | -278 | Payton Talbott |
| Jan Blachowicz (5) | -137 | Light heavyweight | +110 | Bogdan Gusgov (11) |
UFC 323 odds as of 11:50 a.m. on 12/05/2025.
UFC best bet
Talbott to win by decision (+105): Here's another budding star with a top-10 matchup to get through.
Talbott, a 27-year-old bantamweight, took the UFC by storm when he won his first three fights spectacularly.
He had a setback when he lost to Raoni Barcelos earlier this year, but styles make fights, and I give Talbott the edge over Cejudo.
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- The Olympic gold medalist spent most of his MMA career at flyweight. He's undersized for this division, giving up eight inches of height and six inches of reach to Talbott.
- Cejudo is now 38 years old and is currently on a three-fight skid. His biggest advantage is his wrestling but he's landed one takedown over his last two fights, and his takedown accuracy now sits at 31%.
- Talbott defends 76% of takedowns, so he should be able to keep this fight at kickboxing range.
If that's the case, Talbott has all the advantages. He's the younger, taller fighter with a huge reach advantage.
Cejudo hasn't been finished since 2016, so he should make it to the scorecards, where I predict Talbott takes a unanimous decision.
