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.
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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.
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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.
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.
