The UFC only has visited the highly underrated small city of Saskatoon in Canada once – and the main event left fans largely unsatisfied.
This week, nearly 11 years after that headliner, Max Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC) and Charles Oliveira (36-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) will run it back – and there’s been all kinds of UFC history that has happened for both of them in the meantime.
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When Holloway and Oliveira headlined the UFC’s first visit to the Canadian province of Saskatoon, they were featherweights on the rise. Holloway had won six straight fights and Oliveira had won four straight – including a double bonus-winning submission his previous time out.
But early in their fight, with Oliveira’s back to the fence, he reached for his neck and throat area, and went to the canvas in pain. The fight was called off for a TKO win for Holloway, albeit an underwhelming one. Oliveira went to the hospital – but no one could ever find an injury, and exactly what happened remains a bit of a mystery.
Holloway kept on rolling after that and became featherweight champion. Oliveira, who had struggled with weight issues at 145 pounds, moved up to lightweight and eventually became champion at 155. Now both of them are at lightweight, and Holloway has the symbolic “BMF” title that they’ll fight for in the UFC 326 (Paramount+) main event Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Ahead of the rematch, which has a lot more at stake this time around, check out their first fight and its bizarre ending above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 326 full fight: Holloway’s first win over Oliveira all-time oddity
