UFC 329 was shaping up to be one of the best cards of this year. The card even tied the record for first-round finishes with seven. There’s one issue, though: the final first-round finish came when Conor McGregor blew out his knee and couldn’t compete after 69 seconds.
This is nothing short of a disaster for the UFC and the biggest star in MMA history. The first question that came to mind was whether McGregor will attempt to fight again, or if he’d be able to.
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McGregor did take to X to give his thoughts after the card and said, “I was so sharp and so ready for this fight I cannot believe what has happened. The talk of me being off while walking in to the fight is nonsense… I will overcome this. I will not be deterred. I will return.”
Obviously, it will be a while before that return happens, if it does. With that said, McGregor still has one fight left on his UFC contract, so he’ll have to fight someone. Here are the best fights to make after UFC 329.
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Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler
This fight is long overdue. McGregor will need one more opponent, and even though the Holloway rematch never played out, Holloway is at a much different stage in his career. The focus should be back on the 155-pound title.
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Chandler just lost his fourth fight in a row. Even so, he can still deliver an exciting fight, whether he wins or loses, and he has an aggressive fighting style.
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Neither of these fighters will ever sniff contention again. Market this as McGregor’s retirement or final UFC fight. Give him the farewell-tour treatment and reflect on the superstar who was the catalyst for the UFC’s meteoric rise in popularity.
It’s McGregor’s best chance to get another win, and Chandler still deserves the fight after waiting so long and even coaching against McGregor on The Ultimate Fighter.
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Paddy Pimblett vs Ilia Topuria
The easiest fight to make after UFC 329. Pimblett showed out on Saturday night, submitting Benoit Saint Denis in 52 seconds with a darce choke. This result puts Pimblett right back towards the top of the division. The next bout should be a No. 1 contender fight.
Topuria needs one more fight before fighting for the title again, and now there’s a clear opponent in Pimblett. The best part is that these two do not like each other one bit. These two fighters have beef that dates back to 2021.
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Pimblett vs Topuria is easily the best non-title fight that the UFC can make right now. Ideally, it happens at the end of this year. If the UFC doesn’t want to make this matchup yet, then Pimblett vs Max Holloway makes sense as well.
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Mario Bautista vs Umar Nurmagomedov/Song Yadong
Bautista is in a weird spot now, obviously riding high with a win over Cory Sandhagen, but there aren’t many options for him next. A fight against Sean O’Malley would make sense, but those two have trained together before. O’Malley also seems firm on waiting for a title shot.
Nurmagomedov and Yadong are booked for a main event in China later this year. Bautista should fight the winner for his final fight before earning a title shot if he wins.
Depending on the timeline, Bautista could also fight the loser of the eventual Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili title fight.
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Gable Steveson vs Tanner Boser
Steveson looked great in his UFC debut, but is still raw. There’s no need to rush Steveson up the heavyweight rankings when he can take his time, get better each fight, and grow into a complete fighter.
Boser is a UFC veteran who has fought for the promotion since 2019. Having gone 6-6 in the UFC up to this point, Boser should just be used as a test for younger prospects, and that’s exactly what Steveson is.
