The long-rumored return of the UFC’s biggest star will come on July 11, capping off this year’s International Fight Week. After a false start a couple of years ago against Michael Chandler, that saw McGregor (22-6) withdraw due to a broken toe, he’ll instead face off against Max Holloway (27-9) in a rematch.

The fight will headline UFC 329 and mark McGregor’s first action since breaking his leg in the trilogy fight of his series with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

After talk of McGregor vs. Holloway 2 swirled in recent weeks, promotion officials announced the match-up during Saturday’s UFC Vegas 117 broadcast. Coincidentally during Netflix’s Rousey vs. Carano card.

McGregor will have to shake off five years worth of ring rust upon his return. He has not won a fight since his finish of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in 2020, which headlined UFC 246. That was followed by back-to-back losses against Poirier.

At his peak, McGregor was the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous double-champ, holding both featherweight and lightweight gold, titles he won from Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez, respectively. He was stripped out both for inactivity without defending either.

Holloway has been one of the UFC’s busier, and most bankable, stars in the ensuing years. Though he’d lose the pair’s first meeting early in their respective careers, Hawaii’s “Blessed” would become a featherweight champion and later claim the “BMF” title as well. His last-second finish of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 remains one of the most electric moments in UFC history.

UFC 329 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 11, 2026.

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The card headlines International Fight Week this July, and McGregor’s return has been heavily rumored to headline the event. Following UFC Winnipeg last month, Dana White told Cageside Press that “it’s looking good” in terms of McGregor’s return, though he didn’t have anything specific to announce.

Rumors have swirled for weeks, however, the McGregor and Holloway might meet for the second time. The pair faced off early in their respective UFC runs, with McGregor earning a decision win in their 2013 encounter.

Speaking to Paramount+ (h/t MMA Fighting), Holloway admitted that the fight is one he’d like back, though he didn’t confirm the rematch was happening. He didn’t deny it, on the other hand, saying “maybe” when asked if he’d appear on the IFW card.

As for the McGregor match-up, Holloway believes it makes sense.

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Max Holloway

(#3) Charles Oliveira out grappled and bested (#4) Max Holloway in the pair’s rematch over a decade in the making, in order to capture the BMF belt. Holloway is now 2-2 since moving up to the lightweight division in 2024. Holloway has only fought elite competition in the division including Justin Gaethje, Illia Topuria and Dustin Poirier.

Max should take on either (#8) Dan Hooker or (#5) Benoit Saint Denis next. Both fights would be absolute bangers as both gentlemen would be willing to stand and trade with Holloway. Easy main event booking for either fighter. Hooker is coming off a pair of stoppage losses to Arman Tsarukyan and Benoit Saint-Denis. Dan was last in the octagon on January 31 so the timing would also matchup. Hooker is 2-2 in his last four similar to Max.

BSD on the other hand has won four fights in a row and has stopped all four of those guys (Kyle Prepolec, Mauricio Ruffy, Beneil Dariush and Dan Hooker). Holloway would be an excellent elite level litmus test for BSD. and Benoit would be a welcome and fun scrap to get Holloway back on the right track (and close in rankings).

Holloway’s next fight: Benoit Saint Denis or Dan Hooker

Reinier de Ridder

(#7) Caio Borralho landed the more damaging shots to win a unanimous decision over (#8) Reinier de Ridder on Saturday in the co main event of UFC 326. It was a heavy-lifting matchup for the division a with the Fight Nerd product coming out on top. RDR has now lost two fights in a row and is 4-2 with the promotion since joining in late 2024.

Walking back a previous loser’s article pick for this one. RDR has to take on (#6) Anthony Herandez next. Fluffy just got stopped by Sean Strickland in the third round of their bout on February 21. The timing would work. Not to mention, RDR was scheduled to take on Hernandez back in October before Fluffy got injured and was forced to withdraw from the bout. Both guys are now coming off of losses and after the performance Saturday, this fight makes more sense than ever. Could be a main event or co main event of a fight night card or high up on the main card of a PPV card. Winner is knocking on the door of a title eliminator bout with a flashy finish.

de Ridder’s next fight: Anthony Hernandez

Rob Font

Raul Rosas Jr. smothered and shut out #13-ranked Rob Font on Saturday as Font just was not able to get his boxing offense going before repeatedly ending up on the canvas in grappling exchanges. This was a changing of the guard fight, with the youngster passing with flying colors. 38-year-old Font now falls to 12-9 under the promotional banner and he has now lost two in a row.

The perfect next fight for Font would be to give him the winner of Adrian Yanez vs Ricky Simon. That fight goes down on March 28 so the timing would match up. Ricky is 10-6 with the UFC and has gone 2-2 in his last four bouts. Yanez is 6-3 with the promotion and has dropped three of his last four. The winner of this fight might draw a ranked matchup if it’s a thrilling finish, but if not, they may need another fight before getting a ranked matchup. Font will likely slide just outside of the rankings and would offer a perfect opportunity. Of course, either fighter that Font draws offer him another opportunity to prove he isn’t over the hill and still belongs within the ranked bantamweight fighters. This fight could land on the main card of a fight night card.

Font’s next fight: Ricky Simon vs Adrian Yanez winner

Michael Johnson

Drew Dober smoked Michael Johnson with a beautiful left hand in a fight where ‘The Menace’ was looking really quick and sharp to start out. After finding some stability in the form of a 3-fight win streak (Darrius Flowers, Ottoman Azaitar and Daniel Zellhuber) a loss like this was the absolute last thing that the 39-year-old needed. Johnson now sits with the peculiar record and stint of 16-16 over 16 years with the promotion.

Good next matchup for ‘Mr. I’ve Fought Everyone on the Roster’ would be against the loser of Terrance McKinney vs Kyle Nelson. That fight is scheduled for March 28 so the timing could be okay depending on Johnson’s recoup time. Both guys are extremely entertaining fighters. McKinney is 7-5 with the UFC and has gone 2-2 in his last four. He has yet to hear the final bell in one of his UFC fights. Kyle Nelson is 5-5-1 and has gone 3-1 in his last four. Great matchup whichever way this goes, but the ideal matchup here would absolutely be Johnson vs McKinney. That bout has a real chance for fireworks. This is for relevancy and keeping your head above the shark infested waters of the UFC’s lightweight division. This fight could be on the main card of a weaker fight night card or potentially a feature prelim- very likely to be a banger.

Johnson’s next fight: Terrance McKinney vs Kyle Nelson loser

Brunno Ferreira

(#13) Gregory Rodrigues flatlined (#15) Brunno Ferreira with one of the first punches he threw in the pair’s rematch on the main card of UFC 326 Saturday. The finish earned Robocop a bonus while Ferreira had a 3-fight win streak snapped and all his momentum halted. The 2022 Contender Series product is now 6-3 with the UFC.

Brunno should fight Roman Kopylov or Marco Tulio next. The pair are actually scheduled to fight on May 9. Timing may not appear like it’d match up, but that was a nasty knockout that Ferreira suffered on Saturday, so he could very well be on the shelf for the foreseeable future. Kopylov would be the matchup that we’re leaning towards here. Roman is 6-5 with the UFC and is riding a two-fight losing skid. The loss was against Paulo Costa and Gregory Rodrigues (Costa was originally slated to fight Ferreira on Saturday before withdrawing). Perfect matchup.

Marco Tulio could be a good fight too, he 2-1 with the UFC and his loss is to Christian Leroy Duncan. This matchup could easily be on the main card of a fight night card or even a feature prelim of a PPV card. Brunno is going to slide out of the rankings so the winner of that scrap would likely draw a ranked opponent.

Ferreira’s next fight: Roman Kopylov or Marco Tulio 

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The answer, most likely, is “very little.”

That first fight was not only more than a decade ago, back in 2015 in chilly Saskatoon in Canada, but it had seen Oliveira go down early due to injury. The nature of that injury, which seemed to involve the Brazilian’s neck, was never fully explained, but in the years that followed, both men worked their way to divisional titles: Holloway first, at featherweight, then Oliveira at lightweight.

Holloway now holds the UFC’s symbolic “BMF” title, and was putting it on the line for the second time in the UFC 326 main event.

The two fan favorites opened round one meeting in the middle, with Charles Oliveira landing two hard low kicks. Holloway quickly responded, firing multiple jabs straight to the nose of his opponent. In response, Oliveira exploded in the pocket, landing a series of hooks that forced the Hawaiian to clinch with the decorated Brazilian.

Charles took advantage of the engagement, picking up Holloway and slamming him to the canvas into top control. Now in his comfort zone, Oliveira began working on the mat, landing short strikes while passing Holloway’s guard. Max, attempting to build back up, gave his back to the Brazilian where it was nearly lights out for “Blessed.” Charles locked in his first submission attempt, then another, followed by a neck crank, but Holloway defended them all and even flashed a smile afterward, seemingly taking a small moral victory.

Back to the action in round two, Holloway opened on the feet with his quick jab, trying to regain momentum from the first. The success was short-lived, however, as Oliveira shot a well-timed takedown on an off-balance Holloway, driving him into the cage and quickly taking his back with little defense from “Blessed.”

Another rear-naked choke was attempted but quickly abandoned by “Do Bronx,” who transitioned into a brutal series of elbows. Each strike from Oliveira forced Holloway to react, opening another opportunity for the Brazilian to threaten his fourth rear-naked choke in the first eight minutes of the fight. Holloway was once again able to survive the submission attempts, but with two rounds in the bank, Oliveira appeared firmly in control.

Highlighted by a few television blackouts across the world, the action continued on a familiar pattern as Oliveira landed a massive judo toss to bring “Blessed” to the mat. Holloway, worn down by this point, prioritized submission defense and positioning rather than trying to scramble back to his feet. Content with the control against a defensive Holloway, “Do Bronx” cruised his way to another clear 10-9 round.

Now in deep waters, round four began with both fighters exchanging on the feet for the first 30 seconds, giving fans glimpses of the striking battle many had hoped to see. Holloway landed a clean shot up the middle that slightly stunned the Brazilian, but it ultimately led to “Do Bronx” shooting along the cage. Max briefly defended the attempt, though Oliveira eventually regained top position for the remainder of the round, punishing “Blessed” with elbows and ground strikes.

In serious trouble of losing his belt down four rounds to none, Max Holloway entered the fifth and final round needing a finish. Charles exploded out of his corner, landing a right hook on Holloway before changing levels for another takedown. Holloway finally found some success in the grappling exchange, reversing Oliveira and briefly gaining top control. However, he was unable to generate much offense, as Charles stayed extremely active from the bottom before eventually reversing the position and returning to top control for the final minutes of the fight.

In the closing seconds, fans got a brief taste of what the BMF title is all about. Holloway escaped Oliveira’s grasp and pointed to the center for the final five seconds. Hawaii’s very own cracked Oliveira with a right hand as the clock hit zero, but there simply wasn’t enough time to do any real damage.

A mix of boos and cheers rained down as a dominant performance from Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira was rewarded with the BMF title, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Max “Blessed” Holloway.

Despite tonight’s announcement of the White House card, Charles Oliveira remains focused on being part of what could become the biggest event of the year. The Brazilian superstar improves to 37-11, adding another piece of hardware to his crowded collection of mixed martial arts greatness.

Official Result: Charles Oliveira def. Max Holloway by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

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In another era, one where the bulk of the fanbase still had to shell out over fifty bucks per numbered event on PPV, UFC 326 could be argued to be a “weak” card. And it most certainly lives and dies by its main event, which sees Holloway rematch Charles Oliveira more than a decade on from their first encounter in chilly Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada.

Both fighters would go on to win champions, both would become some of the UFC’s most storied stars. Both took the long road to their titles, Holloway’s a wee bit shorter after dethroning Jose Aldo. And “Blessed” now holds “BMF” gold, a symbolic title that has perhaps more meaning when adorning a man known to point to the floor in the final 10 seconds of his fight, whether he’s winning or losing, encouraging his opponents to throw caution to the wind and just swing.

That, ladies and gentleman, is the very spirit of the BMF championship. It might have been made for Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, but there’s no bigger BMF than Holloway in this sport. If you weren’t sure of that, he defeated Justin Gaethje to win it, and Dustin Poirier to retain, becoming the first man to ever defend the title.

The rest of UFC 326? There are some good fights. Rob Font and Raul Rosas Jr. will finally throw down. Drew Dober gets Michael Johnson in what should be a fun scrap. Does anyone expect Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brunno Ferreira not to end in violet fashion?

Weigh-ins for UFC 326 go down Friday in Las Vegas, kicking off at 12PM ET, 9AM PT. Results can be found below. 

UFC 326: Holloway vs. Oliveira 2 Weigh-In Results

Main card

Lightweight: Max Holloway (c) (155.5) vs. Charles Oliveira (156)  – for the UFC “BMF” Championship
Middleweight: Caio Borralho (186) vs. Reinier de Ridder (185.5)
Bantamweight: Rob Font (136) vs. Raul Rosas Jr. (135.5)
Lightweight: Drew Dober (156) vs. Michael Johnson (155.5)
Middleweight: Gregory Rodrigues (186) vs. Brunno Ferreira (184)

Preliminary card

Bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt (136) vs. Xiao Long (135.5)
Middleweight: Donte Johnson (185.5) vs. Cody Brundage (185.5)
Featherweight: Ricky Turcios (146) vs. Alberto Montes (145.5)
Flyweight: Cody Durden (125.5) vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel (125.5)

Early preliminary card

Flyweight: Su Mudaerji (126) vs. Jesús Santos Aguilar (125.5)
Light Heavyweight: Rafael Tobias (204) vs. Diyar Nurgozhay (205.5)
Featherweight: Lee Jeong-yeong vs. Gaston Bolaños (145.5)
Light Heavyweight: Luke Fernandez (205) vs. Rodolfo Bellato (204.5)

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While not a real championship in terms of divisions or rankings, the symbolic “BMF” (that’s Baddest Motherf*cker, for those unaware) championship denotes the toughest among tough guys. Created for Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz back in 2019, it has since become the “cool” title to have.

The belt was originally supposed to be a one-off, but the UFC dusted the title off in 2023 when Justin Gaethje defeated Dustin Poirier for it. Holloway then defeated Gaethje in a classic moment at UFC 300 that saw “Blessed” pointing to the canvas in the final ten seconds of the fight, urging Gaethje to brawl before knocking him out cold.

Holloway followed that up by becoming the first man to defend the belt, against Poirier in the latter’s retirement fight last summer.

The point-down gesture has become a Holloway trademark, one that represents the Hawaiian giving his opponents the opportunity to get back in the fight. Just don’t expect Oliveira to return the favor should he be ahead in the fight come Saturday.

“I don’t know bro. All I do, I want to win, that’s it,” Oliveira told Cageside Press during Thursday’s UFC 326 pre-fight press conference. “That’s the real answer.”

Holloway, however, has already given Oliveira his dues as a fellow BMF. “Dude’s a legend. Dude’s a legend. A lot of people are making this a striker versus grappler match. A lot of his subs, before he’s submitting guys he’s killing these guys on the feet. Striking them, hurting them,” Holloway stated on Thursday. “He’s a BMF in my eyes, can’t wait to see him.”

It’s lightweight gold, not the BMF belt (which has traditionally been contested at lightweight) that Holloway has in his sights.

“I got another undisputed title on my mind right now. I want to be a two-division champ,” the former featherweight champion said. “They’re saying this BMF title makes me a two division champ, I don’t believe them. I want that gold. So first things first, it’s Charles Oliveira.”

UFC 326 takes place on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Holloway vs. Oliveira 2, a rematch of their 2015 fight in Saskatoon, headlines.

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Call this an experiment of what UFC fans are willing to accept at a numbered event in the Paramount+ era. With PPV fees now gone for the vast majority of fight fans (sorry, Canada), does every numbered card need a title fight or two? In years gone by, the UFC would have non-title fights headlining some of their biggest events. In the modern era, however, it became a sort of accepted fact that a PPV card needed a title to legitimize it, with arguably Conor McGregor (in his fights with Nate Diaz and Cowboy Cerrone) being the main exception.

UFC 326 does have a title, the BMF title, and it’s not the first time that has headlined an event. But there is no co-main event that even comes close to filling in as a headliner if Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira falls through. Of course, the same can be said for UFC 318, where Holloway defended his BMF belt opposite Dustin Poirier. That card, however, doubled as Poirier’s retirement fight; neither “Blessed” nor “Do Bronxs” are likely to retire this weekend win or lose.

Unlike 2025, however, no one outside an unlucky few is stuck paying upwards of $50 for UFC 326. There’s an argument to be made that the UFC can and should go back to putting just plain fun fights atop certain events (Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira, with Tom Aspinall out due to injury, also comes to mind).

Regardless, UFC 326 arrives in Las Vegas this Saturday, and on Thursday, the top stars assembled for the pre-fight press conference, which you can catch in the live stream above. It all goes down starting at 8PM ET, 5PM PT.

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Holloway (27-8) sees it differently. To the Hawaiian star, this isn’t a clash of styles but a meeting of two complete mixed martial artists.

“I think he’s a BMF. I think it’s fitting for sure. A lot of people are making this fight to be a striker versus grappler. They got it all wrong,” Holloway told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“He was a Jiu-Jitsu guy before and now he’s an MMA guy. A lot of his submission wins have been coming from striking first. He’s hurting these guys on the feet then he’s submitting them. That’s pretty BMF thing to do. Nothing but love for him.”

“At the end of the day the first fight it was a let down. I’m not going to even lie about it. I think a lot of people is disappointed and I think a lot of people don’t even count it. It’s on the record, but it is what it is. We’re here, we get to right that wrong, and I’m excited for it,” he said.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. It would be cool to have two of the, but they’re making everybody only have one belt,” Holloway said.

“The one belt that I’m going to drop is definitely gonna be the BMF one when we get that undisputed one.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Max Holloway above. He defends his BMF title against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 on Saturday night.

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That main event will see Max Holloway (27-8) put his “BMF” title on the line against Charles Oliveira (36-11, 1NC) in a lightweight fight.

Both men were on hand for Friday’s “It’s Time” press conference, while unveiled the UFC’s Q1 2026 schedule. Among the big events announced, UFC 326 will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Holloway claimed the “BMF” title by defeating Justin Gaethje in the final second of their UFC 300 classic, and after a loss to Ilia Topuria for 145lb gold, defended the “Baddest Motherf*cker” belt opposite Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 this past summer.

What was once designed to be a one-off, symbolic title for Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz in 2019 has since become one of the UFC’s smartest promotional moves. Akin to an extent to their old “SuperFight” title, it allows the company to elevate a great match-up to a title fight without holding up any particular weight class.

Thus far, all BMF title fights have come in the lightweight division.

Oliveira was last seen submitting Mateusz Gamrot atop the UFC Rio card in October. The former UFC lightweight champion and ex-featherweight champ Holloway first crossed paths in 2015, with Holloway winning a featherweight main event at UFC Saskatoon in 2015. A slight asterisk comes with that, as Oliveira suffered an esophagus injury in the bout.

UFC 326 takes place on March 7, 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Max Holloway

As Max said right after his hand was raised, this moment is not about him. So I won’t go too deep about what this win meant for his career, I’ll get right to the matchmaking.

In the UFC 317 edition of What’s Next, I had Ilia Topuria fighting Paddy Pimblett as I felt the UFC was still in need of big crossover fights. The only non-title fight I could see scratch Justin Gaethje’s fighting itch enough not to retire is a re-booking of the Dan Hooker matchup. That would leave Max with either Arman Tsarukyan or Charles Oliveira as potential dance partners. With Max just going 25 minutes with the hard-hitting Poirier, I doubt the timeline for his return matches Tsarukyan’s, who’s been on the shelf for a while now. That means I see “Blessed” returning in the first quarter of 2026 in a rematch against the former champion Oliveira.

Holloway’s next fight: Charles Oliveira

Paulo Costa

Paulo Costa didn’t have a single victory over a current UFC fighter on his record. He was in desperate need of a solid win to restore some of the name value he previously held. The Brazilian not only defeated a ranked contender under 35 who was 6-1 in his last 7 fights, he out-struck Kopylov more than two-to-one. An impressive win over a relevant contender in this division was precisely what the doctor ordered. Now, “The Eraser” can once again look up the rankings for his next opponent. I’ve always thought a fight between Costa and Jared Cannonier would be a lot of fun. It just so worked out that Cannonier is fighting Michael “Venom” Page on the very next Pay-Per-View.

Costa’s next fight: Cannonier/Page winner

Daniel Rodriguez

The 38-year-old D-Rod came into UFC 318 as a massive betting underdog against a Kevin Holland that looked rejuvenated at welterweight. After a massive second round where he knocked down “Trailblazer” twice, he then had to weather the storm in round three where he was hurt multiple times. After a three-fight skid, Rodriguez is now on a three-fight win streak and will enter the rankings once again. While I could see the UFC booking the veteran Rodriguez against the youngster Gabriel Bonfim who also just entered the rankings last week, I’d rather put D-Rod in a battle of the southpaws against the loser of the upcoming Geoff Neal and Carlos Prates bout at UFC 319.

Rodriguez’s next fight: Neal/Prates loser

Patricio Pitbull

It was years in the making, but we finally got to see Patricio Pitbull get his hand raised in the UFC. He defeated the perfect featherweight litmus test in Dan Ige at UFC 318. While his recent loss to Yair Rodriguez probably told us a lot more about Pitbull’s true ability to contend at this stage of his career, he should still be provided the opportunity to face known names in this division. Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling will be facing off in Shanghai next month. While the winner will most likely be looking upwards in the rankings, there’s nothing stopping the UFC from booking Pitbull against the loser.

Pitbull’s next fight: Ortega/Sterling loser

Michael Johnson

The enigma that is Michael Johnson is the gift that keeps on giving. A 39-year-old man with wins over Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier, who not too long ago was on a bad-looking four-fight skid, just cleanly defeated a highly touted 26-year-old as a nearly 6-to-1 underdog? Yes, that sounds exactly like something Michael Johnson would do.

While I’ve been wishing for Johnson to fight King Green for years, it seems the timing never aligns for those two to fight. Green, who is fighting Diego Ferreira next month, would still be my first choice if he wins. An Edson Barboza rematch could also be fun, now that the Brazilian is coming back up to lightweight. Ultimately, I went with another young prospect who will look to bounce back after a loss. Zellhuber was meant to get back in the win column against a recognizable name, but Johnson spoiled those plans. Can Ignacio Bahamondes do what Zellhuber couldn’t and get past the savvy veteran?

Johnson’s next fight: Ignacio Bahamondes

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