Top 5: Fighters on the Rise at UFC 323

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Almost everything has gone according to plan for Joshua Van since he linked arms with the Ultimate Fighting Championship two-plus years ago.

The 24-year-old Myanmar native will challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the undisputed flyweight championship in the UFC 323 co-main event on Dec. 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where he looks to complete his ascent to the top of the 125-pound mountain. Van enters the cage on the strength of a five-fight winning streak, having posted consecutive victories over Edgar Chairez, Cody Durden, Rei Tsuruya, Bruno Silva and Brandon Royval. The surge has allowed the former Fury Fighting Championship titleholder to distance himself from a July 2024 knockout loss to Charles Johnson. Van was in prime form in his “Fight of the Year” contender against Royval at UFC 317, where he landed a career-best 204 significant strikes and did so at a remarkably efficient 66% clip (204-for-305).

“I got to share the Octagon with one of the greats in the flyweight division,” he told ESPN afterward. “He’s [ranked] No. 1 for a reason, and there are a lot of things I’ve got to learn. I think it was new for him because a lot of guys when they fight him, they kind of fade in the later rounds, and I wasn’t going to do that.”


Van has since fixed his sights on Pantoja, a pound-for-pound luminary who has lorded over the flyweight division for nearly 900 days. The American Top Team-trained Brazilian has won eight fights in a row to improve his overall record to 30-5. Pantoja put away Kai Kara-France with a third-round rear-naked choke in his most recent title defense on June 28, then immediately turned his attention to Van.

“I have another contender,” he said. “That’s so amazing. A new guy. A fresh guy. I think everybody’s going to wait for that matchup. This kid’s trouble.”

UFC 323 “Dvalishvili vs. Yan 2” features several fighters on the rise, with Van chief among them. Four others to monitor:

Mansur Abdul-Malik

Middleweight | 8-0-1 (2-0-1 UFC)
Stock in Abdul-Malik held steady following his draw with Cody Brundage at UFC on ESPN 69 in June. It was initially ruled a win via technical decision for the MMA Masters prospect after an accidental headbutt left Brundage unable to continue in the third round. The result was later overturned to a draw on appeal and interrupted Abdul-Malik’s run of eight straight finishes—six of the first-round variety—to start his career. The 28-year-old looks to start a new streak against Antonio Trocoli as part of the UFC 323 undercard. Trocoli, 34, sports a respectable 12-5 record but finds himself in a bit of a tailspin following back-to-back defeats to Sharabutdin Magomedov and Tresean Gore.

Nazim Sadykhov

Lightweight | 11-1-1 (4-0-1 UFC)
Sadykhov steps into view on a 12-fight unbeaten streak during which he has compiled an 11-0-1 mark. The Syndicate MMA and Serra-Longo Fight Team product has shown a propensity for the finish, with 10 of his 11 career victories having come by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Sadykhov last suited up at UFC on ABC 8, where he punched out Nikolas Motta a little more than four minutes into the second round of their June 21 encounter. The 31-year-old Azerbaijan native holds other UFC wins over Ismael Bonfim, Terrance McKinney and Evan Elder. In Sadykhov’s path stands Fares Ziam, a Kill Cliff Fight Club rep who has quietly pieced together a five-fight winning streak at 155 pounds.

Mairon Santos

Featherweight | 16-1 (3-0 UFC)
One of the more complete under-30 performers in the UFC, Santos made his way into the promotion by winning Season 32 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and has yet to skip a beat. The Xtreme Couture standout has strung together four straight victories, three of them inside the Octagon, and could soon be knocking on the door to the Top 15 at 155 pounds. Santos, 25, last saw action on May 17, when he outstruck Sodiq Yusuff to a three-round unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 256. Next for the Brazilian: a lightweight prelim opposite Muhammadjon Naimov. The 31-year-old Tajikistan native has won five of his six bouts in the UFC, a June 2024 submission loss to Felipe Lima his only misstep.

Iwo Baraniewski

Light Heavyweight | 6-0 (0-0 UFC)
Baraniewski earned his spot on the UFC roster with a sensational 20-second knockout of Mahamed Aly on Dana White’s Contender Series in September. An overhand right did the brunt of the damage, as the victory improved the decorated judo black belt to 6-0 with six first-round finishes. Baraniewski, 27, operates out of the Aligatores Fight Club in Warsaw, Poland. His degree of difficulty should increase dramatically in his first Octagon assignment, as he toes the line against Turkish brute Ibo Aslan in a light heavyweight prelim. The 29-year-old Gym 23 representative has secured all 14 of his pro victories by knockout or technical knockout.