UFC 323 will mark the end of an era.
Though numbered UFC events will continue on — both 324 and 325 are scheduled for next month! — the event this weekend (Sat., Dec. 6, 2025) will be the final pay-per-view (PPV) event of the ESPN era. As the promotion moves over to Paramount+ and CBS, asking fans to pony over $80 for individual events will be a thing of the past. Instead, the (ever-increasing) monthly Paramount+ cost will be the only barrier to watching fights whether we’re discussing the UFC White House mega event or more typical scraps from inside the Apex.
Though tempered by some skepticism, this change was met with great excitement from fans. Since the August announcement, however, UFC has increasingly struggled to sell its numbered PPV events as a result of the upcoming shift. With an end to the financial bleeding in sight, fans appear more reluctant than ever to part with their hard-earned dollars.
Economic conditions and inflation probably don’t help either.
All of this leaves me wondering: just how many people will buy UFC 323? Let me be clear that I personally am really looking forward to the fight card. I find all five of the main card bouts to be interesting matchups with respectable names, and there’s plenty of good talent throughout the undercard as well. Generally, I would rank it among the better PPV events of 2025.
That said … there’s no Alex Pereira, Jon Jones, or Ilia Topuria atop the deck. The promotion doesn’t have many serious stars remaining, and the few that are still competing are being saved until next year’s greener pastures. Instead, there are a pair of workhorse champions, Alexandre Pantoja and Merab Dvalishvili. I cannot overstate how much I respect these men and their accomplishments, but are the two smallest male champions likely to sway fans in the midst of the expensive holiday season?
I don’t see it. Four of the five bouts on the PPV portion feature fighters 135-pounds or below, and those divisions generally don’t draw. The outlier is Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov, which feels unlikely to be much of a game changer on its own. The promotion doesn’t often release numbers anymore, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that UFC 323 ends up with one of the lowest buy rates in recent years.
Rather than speculate further, I’d like to turn it over to the MMAmania community. If you are among those who do at least occasionally purchase events, will UFC 323 make the cut?
LIVE! Stream UFC 323 On ESPN+
