The fifth ever BMF title fight headlined UFC 326 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In the main event, Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira got his revenge from the anti-climactic ending of his first meeting with Max Holloway over 10 years ago. While the prelim card was nothing to write home about, the rest of the main card delivered a bounce back performance from Caio Borralho, Raul Rosas Jr’s best win yet, and one-hitter quitter knockouts from Drew Dober and Gregory Rodrigues. With the year’s third numbered event now in the rearview mirror, let’s look at what’s next for the UFC 326 winners.
Charles Oliveira
Unfortunately, Charles Oliveira’s complete domination of Max Holloway won’t get the credit it deserves, because it couldn’t live up to the ethos of the belt the two were fighting for. If this fight was a regular number 1 contender bout, people would be raving about how nobody has ever shut out Max Holloway in this fashion. Alas, we are left with disappointment that two beloved legends didn’t go at each other Rock’em Sock’em robots style.
Oliveira may have earned a title shot in any other division, but it’s hard to picture the UFC throwing him back in there with Ilia Topuria given how the first fight ended. For that reason, I don’t think Do Bronx will simply wait. They could book him against Conor McGregor next, but I’ll believe a McGregor return when I see it. Until then, I see no reason to matchmake for him
The only other name I believe to be a viable one is Benoit Saint Denis. He’s on a four-fight win streak, ranked inside the top five and fights with the energy fans want from a BMF contender.
Oliveira’s next fight: Benoit Saint Denis
Caio Borralho
Reinier de Ridder and Caio Borralho met in a matchup between two top10 contenders looking to bounce back from deflating losses. It was the Brazilian who came out on top, earning 30-27s across the board. Borralho called out Dricus Du Plessis and while that isn’t a bad callout, I’m not sure it will work out timing wise. DDP hasn’t fought since last August, so you have to think he’s chomping at the bits to get back in there.
An April or May return is a fair timeline for Du Plessis’s return, which is probably too soon for Borralho who just went 15 hard minutes with RDR. I think the winner of the upcoming Roman Dolidze vs Christian Leroy Duncan fight would make a fun fight.
Borralho’s next fight: Dolidze/Leroy Duncan winner
Raul Rosas Jr.
Maybe the fact that he came into the UFC as an 18-year-old clouded our judgement of what Raul Rosas Jr‘s career trajectory should’ve looked like by now. Because while it’s undeniably impressive to defeat Rob Font at 21 years of age, Rosas Jr. still only landed eight significant strikes to Font’s ten. This is by far the best name on Rosas Jr.’s resumé, but it’s quite clear that he’s still very green in his development.
Nevertheless, he will enter the rankings come Tuesday’s update and will have no choice but to try and swim with the sharks. I think Marlon Vera is the most rankings-appropriate fight that could be made while also being winnable for Rosas Jr. The UFC could even make it a main event, so as to see whether Rosas Jr.’s cardio can go five rounds.
Rosas Jr.’s next fight: Marlon Vera
Drew Dober
The UFC knew they would have a guaranteed KO when they paired Drew Dober and Michael Johnson together. Unsurprisingly, the fight delivered and ended in the second round when Dober caught Johnson with a clean left hand. Dober is one of those important types of fighters that promotions need. He’s a guaranteed action fight that can help boost any card’s violence quotient. A fight between Dober and Jalin Turner would’ve made sense when they were both ranked a few years ago and it still makes sense now. It’s a perfect prelim fight for International Fight Week.
Dober’s next fight: Jalin Turner
Gregory Rodrigues
After Brunno Ferreira put Gregory Rodrigues to sleep in his UFC debut over three years ago, it was Rodrigues who got his revenge this time around. Hard to be more efficient, as it took “Robocop” only two significant strikes to separate Ferreira from consciousness. Rodrigues has garnered momentum more than once before seeing his win streaks end to Armen Petrosyan, Brunno Ferreira and, most recently, Jared Cannonier. I think Robert Whittaker represents the right kind of test since there are questions surrounding Bobby Knuckles after he lost two consecutive fights for the first time as a middleweight. It would also make for a good co-main event on the upcoming Perth Fight Night card.
Rodrigues’ next fight: Robert Whittaker
