Henry Cejudo set to return at UFC 323 against surging bantamweight star

Former UFC champion Henry Cejudo adds to a stacked UFC 323 pay-per-view card on December 6th in Las Vegas.

UFC 323 will mark the final pay-per-view card for the foreseeable future for the promotion, as the UFC prepares to ditch its long-standing model ahead of its broadcasting move to Paramount+ in 2026. The UFC/ESPN partnership will come to an end with a slew of intriguing events, headlined by UFC 323 in Las Vegas.

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili headlines UFC 323 in a rematch against former titleholder Petr Yan. They’ll run it back in the Octagon more than two years after their record-setting fight, in which Dvalishvili won by unanimous decision.

UFC flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja co-headlines against rising contender Joshua Van in his latest title defense. UFC CEO Dana White announced the fights on Monday on Instagram, including the upcoming return of one of the division’s legendary names.

Henry Cejudo set to face rising star at UFC 323 on December 6th

White announced that former UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo will return at UFC 323 for his first fight since a technical decision defeat at UFC Seattle earlier this year. Cejudo will face rising star Payton Talbott in a pivotal bout for the bantamweight division.

Cejudo dropped a controversial loss to Song Yadong at UFC Seattle and hasn’t won since returning to the Octagon in 2022. He abruptly retired and vacated the UFC bantamweight title following a win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.

Since returning at UFC 288 in a loss to then-bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling, Cejudo has lost back-to-back fights to Dvalishvili and Yadong. Meanwhile, Talbott returns at UFC 323 after bouncing back from his first-career defeat at UFC 317.

Talbott dropped a unanimous decision to Raoni Barcelos at UFC 311 before defeating Felipe Lima at UFC 317. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is a dangerous test for Cejudo, with one-punch knockout power to go along with slick grappling.

Talbott has a shot at earning a spot in the bantamweight Top 15 with his upcoming fight against Cejudo. Meanwhile, Cejudo is looking to snap his current skid and get back into the UFC bantamweight title mix.

The full slate for UFC 323 is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.