Between Alexandre Pantoja‘s unfortunate arm break and Petr Yan‘s shutout performance, there is something that fans might have missed amid all the UFC 323 excitement. Yes, Dana White and Co.’s sendoff to the ESPN PPV era was a smash hit. But what this sleeper card delivered more than finishes and surprise performances were the fights to look forward to early next year!

During the live stream, UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik dropped several huge updates, especially for UFC 325, which now looks almost complete with some amazing matchups. Plus, the promotion confirmed Sean Strickland’s return, and he’s set to face a top contender in what should be an absolutely stellar fight.

All fights announced during the UFC 323 event 

Along with the full UFC 324 lineup, Dana White had already announced Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes as the UFC 325 headliner in Australia during the Cowboys vs Chiefs halftime event. For both of these Paramount+ cards, fans gave a mixed reaction, but the anticipation stayed high for the rest of the Sydney card, and the promotion delivered big.

To start the announcements, Dan Hooker makes a quick comeback after losing to Arman Tsarukyan in Qatar. In the co-main event, the Kiwi faces the surging lightweight Benoit Saint Denis, who rides a three-fight win streak in a career revival. Still, the most surprising matchup might be Rafael Fiziev vs Mauricio Ruffy, which the promotion locked in for the main card.

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Fan favorite heavyweight Tai Tuivasa also returns to the Octagon after almost two years. He took that long break to rebuild himself after losing five straight fights, staying winless since knocking out Derrick Lewis at UFC 271 in 2022. Now, the Aussie faces Brazilian newcomer Tallison Teixeira in Sydney.

The main card opens with an exciting light heavyweight battle between Jimmy Crute and Dustin Jacoby. And with the top of the UFC 325 lineup looking stacked already, the prelims and early prelims also bring strong matchups. Below is the full list of fights the promotion announced so far, many of which have quietly flown under the radar.

Prelims  

• Lightweight: Quilan Sallkid vs Rongzhu (featured prelims) 
• Heavyweight: Sergei Spivac vs Ante Delija 
• Welterweight: Jonathan Micallef vs Oban Elliott 
• Featherweight: Kaan Ofli vs Yizha  

Early Prelims 

• Light Heavyweight: Junior Tafa vs Billy Elekana (featured early prelims)
• Middleweight: Cam Rowston vs Cody Brundage 
• Middleweight: Jacob Malkoun vs Torrez Finney  

Now, these fights are definitely going to steal some eyes next year. However, the UFC went a step further and announced Sean Strickland’s return to the Octagon against Anthony Hernandez.

Sean Strickland vs Anthony Hernandez announced for UFC Houston 

After the former middleweight champion failed to regain his belt against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312, fans were waiting to see him back in action. But unfortunately, Strickland’s chaotic nature earned him a six-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which finally ends this month.

And right after the UFC announced his return, ‘Tarzan’ jumped on social media and added his usual brash twist. He revealed that both Anthony Hernandez and he didn’t want to fight at UFC 325 in Australia. Because of that, the promotion ended up booking them for a fight night event in Houston, Texas.

“Yes, I did say no to the Australia card. Australia, I f— love you guys. You guys are all white trash. You’re all like minded. I feel like we’re one of the same. But I don’t have medical insurance. So you want me to go get my first fight back in Australia and give half my check to you f— and buy your medical insurance? I ain’t f— doing it. ‘Fluffy’ don’t want to do it. I don’t want to do it. We ain’t doing it. I love Australia, I love the UFC, but I can’t do it.”  Strickland posted on X.

For the unversed, ‘Fluffy’ was originally set to face Reinier de Ridder at UFC Vancouver in a fight that was supposed to decide Khamzat Chimaev’s next opponent. But Hernandez suffered an injury and was forced to withdraw. Interestingly, both Strickland and Hernandez had been showing interest in fighting each other for a while, and now they will finally square off on February 21, 2026. 

So, what’s your opinion on the fights announced at UFC 323? Let us know your thoughts below.