UFC 323 shocked fans and critics alike with unexpected upsets this past weekend. The promotion’s final pay-per-view card, now remembered as one of the best of 2025, featured Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan in the main event, and both fighters delivered a “Savage” action-packed performance full of striking and blood. In the end, Yan claimed the belt for the second time.

And the drama didn’t end there—co-main event champion Alexandre Pantoja also saw his position shaken after a shocking early injury that halted his title defense. Over five rounds, he stuffed most of Dvalishvili’s trademark takedown blitzes and steadily edged him in the striking exchanges, turning what was supposed to be a grinding wrestling defense into a clean technical kickboxing clinic.

Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja injured his left elbow just 26 seconds into the opening round, which forced him to stop fighting. As a result, Joshua Van captured the flyweight title. Almost every fight on the card delivered wild performances, and now the event has officially gone down in the books. Finally, Dana White and Co. released their updated rankings.

Between Manuel Torres’ upset knockout of ranked lightweight Grant Dawson, Tatsuro Taira becoming the first man ever to finish Brandon Moreno, and multiple late stoppages up and down the card, most outlets are already calling UFC 323 one of the strongest pay-per-view lineups of 2025.

Post-UFC 323 update: biggest gainers and losers in the rankings

UFC 323 delivered far more than a memorable main and co-main event. The entire main card produced high-energy fights, turning the event into one of the year’s most unforgettable cards. Now that the action has wrapped up, the updated rankings show major movement across several divisions.

In the bantamweight division, 27-year-old Payton Talbott now enters the top fifteen. The 5’10” prospect put on a sharp performance against MMA legend Henry Cejudo and even copied Max Holloway’s “point to the ground” gesture. He gave the 5’4″ Cejudo a fitting retirement moment, creating a clean passing-the-torch scene.

It wasn’t just the optics either. Talbott cruised to a unanimous decision on all three cards and kept Cejudo circling away from his jab and teep kicks for most of the fight, a surreal sight given this is the same double champ who once neutralized Demetrious Johnson over five rounds.

Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili loses his title and drops to the number 1 contender spot. His loss triggers a shift in the division, as Umar Nurmagomedov moves to 2 and Sean O’Malley rises to 3. On the pound-for-pound list, ‘The Machine’ pays an even bigger price, falling five spots to number 8.

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UFC 323 Payouts: How Much Will Merab Dvalishvili, Petr Yan, Alexandre Pantoja, and Others Earn?

That slide looks even harsher when you remember this loss snapped one of the craziest runs we’ve ever seen at 135 in the last three years. Merab had beaten José Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley twice, and Cory Sandhagen, even becoming the first UFC champion to defend a belt four times in a single calendar year.

Over in the P4P rankings, middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev enters at number 3, while Petr Yan climbs to 6 after reclaiming the bantamweight title. New flyweight champion Joshua Van, just 24, also jumps to number 11. Meanwhile, former champions Belal Muhammad and Charles Oliveira drop out of the list. Former flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja takes a major hit as well, sliding down to No. 9 on the pound-for-pound list after surrendering his belt due to the early elbow injury.

Chimaev’s jump into the top three comes after a 15-0 start to his career and a suffocating win over Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 to take the middleweight belt, while Van’s debut at No. 11 reflects an eight-fight win streak capped by taking Pantoja’s title in just 26 seconds after the champ’s freak left-arm injury.

In the lightweight division, Manuel Torres breaks into the top fifteen at number 13 after knocking out Grant Dawson in the prelim headliner. Additionally, Fares Ziam enters the rankings and now holds the number 15 spot.

Dawson walked in as the No. 13 lightweight and a heavy favorite, but Torres calmly stuffed his early shots and detonated a counter left hand that dropped him cold, following up with ground-and-pound for a first-round TKO and one of the cleanest KOs on the entire card.

This isn’t the first time a single UFC event has detonated the rankings like this. Fans will remember UFC 284, when Islam Makhachev’s razor-close win over Alexander Volkanovski sparked one of the most heated pound-for-pound debates in modern history.

Many argued Volkanovski deserved to stay at No. 1 despite the loss, while others pushed for Makhachev to take over the top spot. The fallout from that event created a weeks-long argument about how much a close fight should really move the rankings, almost identical to the shockwaves now spreading across divisions after UFC 323.

ESPN announces the best MMA fighters under 30 in the latest list

UFC 323 proved to be one of the standout events of the UFC’s entire run with ESPN. And with UFC Vegas 112 set for December 13, the promotion closes out seven years of working alongside the broadcasting giant. As the year wraps up, Dana White and Co. now prepare to launch their new seven-year deal with Paramount, which will stream every UFC event on Paramount+, with some major fights also airing on CBS Sports.

Before the ESPN partnership officially comes to an end, the network released its rankings of the best MMA fighters under 30. The list, published on 5 December, blends UFC and PFL names and leans heavily toward athletes who are either already wearing belts or sitting inside the top three of their divisions.

UFC Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria leads the list as the top young fighter. It’s hard to argue when he’s 17-0 and has iced Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway at featherweight before moving up and knocking out Charles Oliveira to grab the vacant lightweight belt at UFC 317.

PFL women’s flyweight champion Dakota Ditcheva follows at number two, while UFC flyweight king Joshua Van sits right behind her at number three. Ditcheva is coming off an unbeaten PFL season and a flyweight title run where all but one of her wins have come by finish, while Van’s leap up the board reflects not just his new UFC belt but also the fact he’s one of the youngest male champions in company history and one of the first to put Myanmar on the map at this level.

Welterweight contenders Michael Morales and Ian Garry take the fifth and sixth spots. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousins, Usman and Umar Nurmagomedov, claim seventh and eighth. Rising UFC women’s star Natalia Silva also features on the list, and lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan lands at number ten as he waits for his shot at the title.

When asked about Tsarukyan’s placement, UFC CEO simply said he “give a s***” about Arman Tsarukyan’s UFC ranking. What’s your take on the current rankings? Do they matter much to you? Share your thoughts.