Charles Oliveira leaned on his world-class jiu-jitsu to neutralize Max Holloway and claim the UFC’s BMF title in the main event at UFC 326 in Las Vegas on Saturday. Though the win puts a new belt around Oliveira’s waist, his path to winning it leaves him and Holloway in an awkward position for future matchmaking. Which direction will the UFC go regarding the next fights for two of the biggest names in the lightweight division?
Middleweight Caio Borralho and the UFC’s youngest signee, 21-year-old men’s bantamweight Raul Rosas Jr., earned unanimous decision victories to continue their ascents toward title shots as well. And with them residing in two of the promotion’s deepest weight classes, there is a bevy of options to pair them up with in the near future.
Here’s who should be next for each of the top stars from UFC 326.
This was the least-exciting BMF fight of all, but once some of the disappointment wears off, fans will more than forgive Oliveira for taking the path he did. He’s one of the most entertaining fighters in UFC history. Watching him fight smart could actually be considered a real treat if you think about it. So, moving on, let’s treat Oliveira as the star he is and match him against a fellow star. It’s the perfect time for it, because there isn’t another obvious fight out there for Oliveira. McGregor has expressed interest in fighting for the BMF title at 170 pounds. Granted, McGregor has expressed interest in many things over the years, but this one would make sense, and the fan base would embrace it.
Oliveira and Tsarukyan fought in April 2024, and Oliveira lost a split decision. He was coming alive at the end of the fight, though. Tsarukyan deserves a title fight now, but he’s not getting one. He has been looking for a fight and has even considered moving to 145 pounds if it’s the only way to get booked. This isn’t a rematch the fan base is necessarily clamoring for, but with nowhere for either Oliveira or Tsarukyan to go right now, it’s a solid option.
I write this so often, but sometimes the next matchups are obvious. Perfect timing, perfect story, perfect style. And sometimes, there really is no option that feels “right.” That is the case for Holloway. Holloway has such a name, such a rรฉsumรฉ. It’s not that he can’t fight Saint Denis, but that the matchup would stand in stark contrast to what we’ve seen from Holloway lately: Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, Ilia Topuria, Justin Gaethje. In terms of rankings, Saint Denis makes sense, though. And Saint Denis is a guy deserving of a big name such as Holloway. Even if it seems a little off, Holloway is willing to defend his spot against anyone. It’s an intriguing fight.
Wild card: Arman Tsarukyan
Tsarukyan is even more deserving than Saint Denis of a big-name fight. But he’s also deserving of a fight with a title attached to it. If this fight does come together, there will be reasons to do it, but it’s far from the No. 1 option.
Borralho’s win over Reinier de Ridder on Saturday was a solid bounce-back following his first UFC loss to Nassourdine Imavov in September. It wasn’t dominant, but it doesn’t need to be dominant when you’re ranked in the UFC’s top 10. Any win is huge at this level, and this one put Borralho back onto the short list of title contenders. I like his callout of former middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, but I could see du Plessis fighting Imavov (if Sean Strickland gets the next title shot) or even Allen. Middleweight is a little congested, and a lot of these guys have already fought each other. The real key is whether Imavov gets a title fight next, waits or books another matchup. The rest of the division will fall in line pretty quickly after that.
If he beats Joe Pyfer in Seattle later this month, Adesanya will make perfect sense for Borralho, who has been calling for that fight for a while. Adesanya has earned the right to fight who he wants, when he wants, of course. His fight against Pyfer headlines UFC Fight Night on March 28. Let’s see if any middleweight matchups get booked between now and then and what Adesanya (or Pyfer) says postfight.
I don’t see why de Ridder wouldn’t move up at this point. He has already talked about it and has experienced legitimate medical issues from cutting so much weight so frequently. For the second straight fight, he appeared to lose a bit of steam as the Borralho bout progressed. Light heavyweight has improved in recent years, but it’s still pretty open for someone such as de Ridder to make noise, especially now that Alex Pereira is vacating the belt. Mingyang is ranked No. 15 by the UFC and is coming off his first loss to Johnny Walker. Mingyang has shown a lot of promise, but de Ridder is more established. This would be a fun fight that would let us know where both stand.
If de Ridder stays at middleweight, there’s not too much to think about. Go by the rankings and make the obvious fight. In this case, that’d be Cannonier. They’re essentially ranked right next to each other.
Even at 21 years old, Rosas is not an easy bantamweight to matchmake. It’s easier now than it was three years ago, when he was 18, but still challenging. As good as he is — he just dominated a proven veteran in Rob Font — he’s still probably shy of the level where you’d want him to be to throw him into the top 10. If the UFC decides to go for it and see what Rosas can do, it should allow him to test the very top. But that still seems premature to me and, frankly, not in Rosas’ best interest. He’ll be ranked inside the UFC’s top 15 this week, so it can go ahead and book him a ranked opponent, but the matchmakers should keep playing it slow. Vinicius Oliveira looked bad in his most recent bout against Mario Bautista, gassing out early and getting submitted in Round 2. It was a big letdown for someone who had looked so good in his first four UFC appearances. The UFC can test Oliveira’s ground game again to see if he belongs while also giving Rosas a challenging but not-quite-top-tier opponent.
This matchup would be along the same lines. Vera appears to have lost a step since his title-challenging days. He’s still hanging on to a top-10 ranking, though. He’s going to need to defend it. This one would make sense.
