RIGHT
ON THE FIRST KICK 😳Max
Holloway gets his hand raised tonight![ #UFC329
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July 12, 2026
UFC 329 Matchmaking: Four Fights to Make After Max Holloway’s
Win
Conor
McGregor made his
Ultimate Fighting Championship return atop an action-packed
UFC 329 card that ended with a whimper. The welterweight main
event saw “Notorious” take on Max
Holloway in a rematch of their 2013 fight that never really got
started. The finish-filled card also had important fights in the
lightweight, bantamweight and flyweight divisions.
Here are the matches to make for the UFC 329 main card winners.
Max
Holloway vs. Paddy
Pimblett could deliver a lightweight blockbuster
Holloway (28-9) finally got revenge on McGregor (22-7), but it
wasn’t how he wanted to after McGregor
suffered a knee injury. Regardless, “Blessed” is now 2-1 in his
last three fights, with a deflating loss to Charles
Oliveira sandwiched between wins over Dustin
Poirier and McGregor. I’d like to see Holloway take on Pimblett
next, as “The Baddie” submitted Benoit St.
Denis with
a Peruvian necktie. It was an impressive showing for the
British fighter, who proved he deserves to be among the elite at
155 pounds. Both men are among the most entertaining at lightweight
and it’d be a stellar action fight after Holloway’s disappointing
showings against Oliveira and McGregor.
Mario
Bautista needs a major test after another UFC win
Bautista battled back from early adversity to take a decision win
and get revenge against Cody Sandhagen, who beat him in 2019. The
American is now 10-1 in his last 11 bouts inside the Octagon, with
the lone defeat coming to Umar
Nurmagomedov. While he called for a title shot, that doesn’t
seem likely with champion Petr Yan
having major rematches against Merab
Dvalishvili and Sean
O’Malley as possible title defenses. Instead, a fight against
the underrated Barcelos would make sense. The Brazilian is on a
five-fight win streak that includes victories over Ricky
Simon, Payton
Talbott and Cody
Garbrandt. It’s a great stay-busy fight against a tough foe
that will allow the log jam at the top of the division to figure
itself out.
Brandon
Royval and Asu
Almabayev could decide the next flyweight contender
Royval capped off an impressive back-and-forth war with flyweight
prospect Lone’er
Kavanagh with a
rare-naked choke. That snaps a two-fight winning streak for”Raw Dawg,” who fell short to Manel Kape
and Joshua Van
in recent fights. Royval (18-9) called out Almabayev for his next
Octagon appearance in a rare post-fight callout that makes total
sense. It’s a fresh fight and one that will give Almabayev (24-3)
the chance to get the biggest win of his career. The Kazakhstani
fighter is currently on a three-fight win streak, with wins over
Charles
Johnson and Alex Perez
being particularly impressive. Whoever emerges victorious will be a
solid contender in one of mixed martial arts’ best divisions.
King
Green vs. Dan Hooker
could produce another UFC classic
Green extended his win streak to four straight fights by pulling
off
an epic comeback TKO over Terrance
McKinney. While 39, Green (36-17-1, 1 NC) always comes to fight
and is one of the most exciting fighters inside the Octagon. The
Californian deserves a step up and Hooker would provide a potential
Fight of the Night contender. Hooker (24-14) fell short against St.
Denis and Tsarukyan recently, but “The Hangman” is never in a dull
scrap. This fight, which was supposed to happen in 2023, gives
Green a shot against a ranked opponent and Hooker a chance to
rebound in exciting fashion. Let’s see what veteran lightweight has
more left in the tank.
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