Edson Barboza vs. Jalin Turner, UFC 323 ceremonial weigh-ins faceoff
Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva, UFC 323 ceremonial weigh-ins faceoff
Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres, UFC 323 ceremonial weigh-ins faceoff

MMA Junkie has live coverage of UFC 323 with round-by-round analysis of every fight.

UFC 323 takes place Saturday with two title fights atop the final pay-per-view event of the year at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The main event will see bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili attempt to record a fourth title defense in a calendar year in a rematch against Petr Yan. In the co-feature, flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja seeks his fifth title defense against Joshua Van.

UFC 323's closes out the pay-per-view slate with a strong card from top to bottom, and as such, some fights are flying under the radar.

Here's our top 3 matchups that shouldn't be overlooked:

Edson Barboza vs. Jalin Turner

  • Division: Lightweight
  • Records: Barboza (24-13 MMA, 18-13 UFC), Turner (14-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC)
  • Betting odds: Barboza +235, Turner -300 (via FanDuel)
  • Current Streaks: Barboza L2, Turner L2
  • USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie Rankings: Barboza UR, Turner UR
  • How to watch: Early prelims (ESPN+), 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT)

Jalin Turner is back after a very brief retirement. After back-to-back stoppage losses, Turner decided to walk away from the sport in March. However, he found the competitive edge again in the few months without the pressure of worrying about what was coming next. Now he's back and faces a grizzled veteran in Edson Barboza, who is also on a two-fight skid.

This fight has the potential to produce fireworks. Barboza is rarely, if ever, in a boring fight – in fact, he's won bonuses in three of his last four. Turner is also a highlight waiting to happen, so don't be surprised to see one of the best moments of the card come from this matchup.

Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva

  • Division: Women's flyweight
  • Records: Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC), Silva (19-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC)
  • Betting odds: Barber -188, Silva +152 (via FanDuel)
  • Current Streaks: Barber W6, Silva W1
  • USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie Rankings: Barber #12, Silva HM
  • How to watch: Televised prelims (ESPN2, ESPN+), 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT)

A UFC-ranked top 10 women's flyweight bout between Maycee Barber and Karine Silva fills out the televised prelim portion of UFC 323.

Barber will make her only appearance of the year after a strange medical issue led to the cancellation of a bout against Erin Blanchfield in May. She brings a six-fight winning streak with her as she aims to land a No. 1 contender bout if successful. Silva's last appearance was a unanimous decision win over Dione Barbosa in August, marking a return to the win column after a setback against Viviane Araujo snapped a nine-fight winning streak.

It's an important fight for the women's 125-pound division, and a pretty even matchup on paper, which means a very competitive bout is in store on the prelims.

Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres

  • Division: Lightweight
  • Records: Dawson (23-2-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC), Torres (16-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC)
  • Betting odds: Dawson -225, Torres +180 (via FanDuel)
  • Current Streaks: Dawson W3, Torres W1
  • USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie Rankings: Dawson #11, Torres UR
  • How to watch: Televised prelims (ESPN2, ESPN+), 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT)

Serving as the feature prelim is a lightweight matchup that has high violence potential between Grant Dawson and Manuel Torres.

Dawson comes in on a three-fight winning streak, looking to protect his ranking. He admittedly expected to be fighting someone ahead of him in the rankings after defeating Diego Ferreira in January, but finds himself facing Torres, who looks to enter the top 15.

Torres is a violent finisher. He's won four UFC bouts thus far, ending them all in the first round with bonus-earning stoppages. He only has one loss, and that too came in the opening frame. So, this fight could end very quickly.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC tonight: 3 fights flying under the radar at UFC 323

Reporting by Matthew Wells, MMA Junkie / MMA Junkie

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