A pair of new champions at the smallest men’s weight classes will help usher in the UFC’s new age.
Bantamweight challenger Petr Yan and flyweight challenger Joshua Van pulled off major upsets on the locally-based promotion’s final pay-per-view under its five-year television contract with ESPN Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Yan thwarted a shot at history for Merab Dvalishvili, who trains out of Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, in the main event of UFC 323. Dvalishvili was looking to become the first champion in UFC history to defend his title four times in a single year, but Yan continually hurt him with lethal body kicks to win a unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47).