2 titles change hands following upsets at UFC 323 — PHOTOS
Both titles up for grabs changed hands Saturday night on the UFC 323 card at T-Mobile Arena.
Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan regained the belt by shrugging off takedown attempt after takedown attempt from Merab Dvalishvili to upset the champ by unanimous decision, while Joshua Van won the flyweight belt by TKO when Alexandre Pantoja was injured in the opening minute.
The title fights, however, were somewhat overshadowed by future Hall of Famer Henry Cejudo’s final bout as he dropped a thriller to rising bantamweight star Payton Talbott.
In the main event, Yan thwarted all but two of Dvalishvili’s 29 takedown attempts and even landed five of his own to win 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 on the scorecards.
Dvalishvili, who had won 14 straight fights and was seeking a fourth successful title defense this year, holds nearly every UFC record for takedowns in a fight and a career.
He just couldn’t get Yan to the ground and Yan took full advantage by punishing him on the breaks.
“I’m very, very happy,” Yan said. “I worked so hard for this moment. This is my life.”
Pantoja breaks arm
Van was declared the winner in the co-main when Pantoja’s left arm appeared to break as he fell to the ground following the opening exchange.
He immediately waved off Van and the fight was stopped. UFC president Dana White later revealed the most severe injury was to the shoulder, but was still waiting on further testing for a full evaluation.
“I knew I was going to win the fight, but I didn’t think that’s the way it was going to happen,” Van said. “As soon as he heals up, I would like to run it back.
“I feel like he deserves it.”
But the night belonged to Cejudo, even in defeat.
The former two-division champion engaged in a bloody slugfest that should propel the already rapid ascension of Talbott into stardom.
Talbott is ‘the future’
Talbott, who was born in Las Vegas and raised in Reno, was particularly proud of taking down the former Olympic wrestling gold medalist several times in a fight contested at a lightning pace.
“I was ecstatic,” the 27-year-old said. “I’m young and I’m only going to keep getting better.”
He was good Saturday night, mixing occasional wrestling with both sharp and flashy striking and crushing Cejudo with big knees on several occasions.
It was enough to win all three rounds on all three scorecards and get Cejudo a standing ovation as he left the cage a final time.
“Payton is the future, man,” Cejudo said. “I was saying to him after the fight, ‘Come over and let’s keep training.’ I want to keep mentoring him. But (expletive), this is the end (for me).”
Also, former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno was stopped by Tatsuro Taira in the second round.
Taira is now 8-1 in the UFC and in contention to challenge Van, should Pantoja be out an extended period and unable to engage in a rematch.
“Give me a title shot, baby,” Taira proclaimed.
Bogdan Guskov fought former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz to a majority draw in the opener of the main card.
Blachowicz won the first and third rounds, including a knockdown and near-finish in the final seconds of the fight, but Guskov dominated the middle frame and almost prompted the referee to step in on several occasions.
Preliminary card results
The preliminary card featured Maycee Barber returning from nearly a two-year absence to score a unanimous decision over Karine Silva despite getting in trouble on the mat in the first round and absorbing an illegal upkick to the jaw in the second.
Barber, who remains the No. 5 contender in the women’s flyweight division despite the inactivity, has won seven straight fights.
She had been slated to return from a series of health issues in May only to suffer a medical episode — believed to have been a seizure after a difficult weight cut — just as she was about to walk out to the cage.
“I’m just blessed to be here,” an emotional Barber said Saturday. “It’s been a rough journey and I just wanted to be here doing what I love.”
Lightweight Chris Duncan submitted Terrance McKinney midway through the first round after a series of wild exchanges between them on their feet, and Iwo Baraniewski knocked out Ibo Aslan after 1:29 of trading blows in a light heavyweight bout.
Lightweight Manuel Torres knocked out Grant Dawson in 2:25, the 16th time he has knocked out an opponent in the first round among his 17 career victories.
Also, lightweight Fares Ziam knocked out Nazim Sadykhov in the second round and Jalin Turner needed just 2:24 to knock out Edson Barboza.
Mansur Abdul-Malik choked out Antonio Trocoli with a guillotine in the first round and Mairon Santos stopped Muhammad Naimov in the third round of what was a catchweight bout after Santos came in 1½ pounds heavy.
Bruno Ferreira earned a unanimous decision over Marvin Vettori.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
