UFC 326 Preview
Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira exchange inside the pocket in their first meeting. Credit: MMA Mania.
The UFC returns to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with another outstanding card. From start to finish, the entire event has been filled with excellent matchups and top-tier fighters looking to put on a show this Saturday. In the co-main event, we’ll see two top-ten Middleweights collide when Caio Borralho faces off against Reinier de Ridder. In the main event, we finally receive a rematch of two former champions and legends of the sport, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira. Let’s take a look at the fights on the main card.
#13 Gregory Rodrigues vs. #15 Brunno Ferreira
Gregory Rodrigues blasts Christian Leroy Duncan with a stiff uppercut. Credit: Zuffa LLC.
Middleweight Bout
Gregory Rodrigues: 18-6-0, 11 KO/TKO, 3 Sub.
Brunno Ferreira: 15-2-0, 9 KO/TKO, 5 Sub.
Rodrigues has won four of his last five fights and has UFC victories over Jack Hermansson (24-10-0), Christian Leroy Duncan (13-2-0), and Brad Tavares (21-12-0). He is a world-class grappler with serious knockout power. He’s always coming forward and constantly looking to blitz into the pocket so he can unload heavy combinations. Training at Kill Cliff FC, Rodrigues has one-shot knockout power and throws everything with bad intentions, regularly unloading massive hooks and overhands, especially with his right hand. He’s comfortable on his feet and in a brawl, but has outstanding grappling skills and various accolades in BJJ and wrestling. He has smothering top pressure and is smart on top, working methodically and looking for openings to damage or find submissions. Rodrigues has earned post-fight bonuses in two of his last three fights and will never back down from a scrap.
Brunno Ferreira lands a vicious right hook on Marvin Vettori. Credit: MMA Mania.
Ferreira has won four of his last five bouts, holding UFC victories over Marvin Vettori (19-10-1), Armen Petrosyan (9-5-0), and his current opponent, Gregory Rodrigues. He is an explosive striker with an extensive grappling background. He’s constantly moving and changing stances, looking for entries before he blitzes into the pocket to unload combinations. Ferreira is typically at a reach disadvantage and at his best on the inside, so he will regularly look to close the distance and let his hands go. Training at Brazilian TKO, he is a lifelong judoka and BJJ practitioner, making him as dangerous on the mat as he is on his feet. He’s averaging over one takedown landed per fifteen minutes, has heavy top control, and is active in top position, immediately pursuing a finish once the fight hits the floor. Ferreira is very dangerous early on, having secured eleven first-round finishes in his professional career, but he has the cardio to go fifteen minutes comfortably and carries his power throughout.
Drew Dober vs. Michael Johnson
Drew Dober lands a vicious knee to the head of Kyle Prepolec. Credit: MMA Mania.
Lightweight Bout
Drew Dober: 28-15-0, 16 KO/TKO, 5 Sub.
Michael Johnson: 25-19-0, 10 KO/TKO, 2 Sub.
Dober has won two of his last five outings and holds UFC victories over King Green (34-17-1), Alexander Hernandez (18-8-0), and Terrance McKinney (17-8-0). He is a wild scrapper with a Muay Thai background and a black belt in Taekwondo. He’s always willing to eat a shot to land one and loves to throw down inside the pocket. Dober has excellent kicks and varies his targets well, attacking the head, legs, and body with equal tenacity before closing distance and letting his hands go. Training with Elevation Fight Team, he pushes a heavy pace from the opening bell and throws everything with power, constantly unloading looping shots and heavy overhands. He’s comfortable hanging on the inside and brawling, but will mix in some flashy attacks and spinning kicks when given space. Dober is rarely in a boring fight, having earned nine post-fight bonuses in his UFC tenure, and has the most knockout victories in the Lightweight division all-time (10).
Michael Johnson cracks Daniel Zellhuber with a thudding jab. Credit: MMA Junkie.
Johnson has won four of his last five fights, with UFC victories coming over Dustin Poirier (30-10-0), Edson Barboza (24-14-0), and Tony Ferguson (26-11-0). He has been in the promotion since 2010 and is an alumnus of the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter, with a background in collegiate wrestling. He’s fought a who’s who of the Lightweight division and is known for his solid wrestling skills and devastating punching power. Training at Kill Cliff FC, Johnson has blazing-fast hands and loves to get into the pocket and unload vicious, extended combinations. He has power in both hands and is always dangerous, with his best weapon being his straight punches. He has quality grappling skills, typically using them when he’s losing on the feet, but can land brutal ground and pound if he secures top position. Johnson is tied for the most knockdowns in UFC Lightweight history (13) and is always in pursuit of a knockout.
#13 Rob Font vs. Raúl Rosas Jr.
Rob Font lands a stinging right hand on Jean Matsumoto. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Bantamweight Bout
Rob Font: 22-9-0, 9 KO/TKO, 4 Sub.
Raúl Rosas Jr.: 11-1-0, 2 KO/TKO, 6 Sub.
Font has won two of his last five bouts and has UFC victories over Kyler Phillips (12-4-0), Adrian Yañez (17-6-0), and Jean Matsumoto (17-2-0). He is a sharp boxer with excellent hands and a solid chin. He fights behind his jab, always remaining technical and measured while constantly pressuring his opponent. Font throws very few kicks, heavily favoring his hands and regularly battering his opponent with quick, straight punches. He has excellent cardio and can push a consistent pace across fifteen minutes, often heating up and letting his hands go more often as the fight continues. He won’t typically pursue grappling exchanges, but has a brown belt in BJJ and is tough to control on the mat. Font has only been finished once in his professional career and always leaves everything inside the cage, earning six post-fight bonuses in his UFC tenure.
Raúl Rosas Jr. looks to secure a rear naked choke on Vince Morales. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Rosas Jr. has won four of his last five outings, holding UFC victories over Ricky Turcios (13-5-0), Aoriqileng (26-12-0), and Terrence Mitchell (14-4-0). He’s a dangerous submission artist with excellent wrestling and lethal submissions. He has solid power in his hands, but typically won’t waste much time before shooting in for a takedown. He’s averaging about 4 takedowns per 15 minutes and is very active on top, constantly pursuing submissions, advancing position, and doing damage. Rosas Jr. was the youngest debuting fighter in UFC history, debuting at 18 years old in 2022. Training at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, he pushes a heavy pace on the ground and is always looking to secure his opponent’s back, where he’s most dangerous. Rosas Jr. has an excellent arsenal of submissions, particularly his rear naked choke and armbar, which represent five of his six submission victories.
#7 Caio Borralho vs. #8 Reinier de Ridder
Caio Borralho fires a kick to the head of Abus Magomedov. Credit: MMA Junkie.
Middleweight Bout
Caio Borralho: 17-2-0, 5 KO/TKO, 4 Sub.
Reinier de Ridder: 21-3-0, 5 KO/TKO, 13 Sub.
Borralho has won four of his last five fights and holds UFC victories over #10 ranked Middleweight Jared Cannonier (18-9-0), Michal Oleksiejczuk (22-9-0), and Abus Magomedov (28-7-1). He is a well-rounded fighter with technical striking and a slick submission game. He’s in perpetual motion on his feet and is highly elusive, having outlanded all but two of his UFC opponents. Training with the Fighting Nerds, Borralho will often fire heavy kicks at range before entering the pocket to land powerful hooks. On the mat, he has excellent top pressure, great sweeps, and constantly pursues a finish. He’s averaging over one takedown landed per 15 minutes and is very explosive, often landing takedowns in open space. Borralho has excellent cardio and pushes a heavy pace throughout the fight, making him dangerous at all times.
Reinier de Ridder blasts Bo Nickal with a heavy right hand. Credit: Zuffa LLC.
De Ridder has won four of his last five bouts, with UFC victories coming over #98 ranked Middleweight Robert Whittaker (27-9-0), Kevin Holland (28-15-0), and Bo Nickal (8-1-0). He is an outstanding, dangerous grappler with an arsenal of submissions. He has an awkward striking style, remaining upright, fighting behind his jab, and throwing kicks at range before closing the distance. De Ridder is powerful in the clinch and constantly looks for body lock and trip takedowns, often from the opening bell. He has strong top control, continually attacking and improving in top position, and fluidly advancing from one position to another. He holds black belts in Judo and BJJ and will use ground and pound to wear down his opponent and create submission openings, typically pursuing chokes. De Ridder pushes a consistent pace throughout, but has found nine of his thirteen submissions in the first round, and is most dangerous early on.
#4 Max Holloway vs. #3 Charles Oliveira
Max Holloway tags Dustin Poirier with a precise right hand. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Lightweight Bout
Max Holloway: 27-8-0, 12 KO/TKO, 2 Sub.
Charles Oliveira: 36-11-0, 10 KO/TKO, 22 Sub.
Holloway has won four of his last five outings and has UFC victories over interim Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje (27-5-0), #4 ranked Featherweight Yair Rodríguez (21-5-0), and #7 ranked Featherweight Arnold Allen (20-4-0). He’s a fantastic, technical striker capable of outputting unbelievable volume. He pushes a heavy pace and remains technical throughout, fighting behind his jab and never wasting energy. Holloway has excellent distance management and footwork, remaining elusive while constantly landing shots and doing damage. Training at Gracie Technics, he has a solid submission game and has defended 83% of takedowns attempted on him in the UFC, but rarely initiates grappling exchanges. He’ll constantly look to counterstrike, slipping his opponent’s attacks before landing his own. Holloway holds various UFC records, including but not limited to: most significant strikes landed all-time (3655), most significant strikes landed in a single bout (445), and the second-most total fight time (8:27:43).
Charles Oliveira lands a stiff left hand on Mateusz Gamrot. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Oliveira has won three of his last five fights, holding UFC victories over interim Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje (27-5-0), #7 ranked Lightweight Mateusz Gamrot (25-4-0), and #12 ranked Lightweight Beneil Dariush (23-7-1). He’s an exceptionally well-rounded fighter with heavy hands and deadly submissions. When standing, he has crisp, technical Muay Thai, using heavy punches and kicks to batter his opponents. He has solid wrestling skills, outstanding BJJ, and is the most prolific submission artist in UFC history. Oliveira is averaging over two takedowns landed and nearly three submissions attempted per fifteen minutes, always remaining active in top position. Training at Chute Boxe, he has proven his ability to stay calm in deep waters, regularly getting hurt in his fights, only to come back and find a way to win. Oliveira holds various UFC records, including the most finishes (21), submission wins (17), and post-fight bonuses (21).
Best Bets
Font vs. Rosas Jr. to Go the Distance: This is an exciting matchup of an established veteran and a rising prospect. In terms of skills and typical game plans, there’s not much to compare between these two fighters, and it’s tough to predict how effective their styles will be against one another. Regardless, they do have one similarity: a lack of finish losses. Font is much further along in his career than Rosas Jr., but has only been finished once in his 31 professional fights, and Rosas Jr. has yet to be finished in his 12, and has only suffered a single loss in general. Essentially, I believe both of these fighters are too solid to be finished by the other; Font’s striking and grappling defense is excellent, and Rosas Jr. has the ground game to avoid Font’s boxing. I anticipate some exciting exchanges and close moments in this fight, but I do believe there will be a bit of a stalemate between the two. Although both of these fighters have excellent finishing abilities, I’m confident this fight will go the full fifteen minutes.
Caio Borralho by Decision: An intriguing matchup of two outstanding Middleweights, both of whom are looking to score a bounce-back victory after tough losses in their last outings. Both of these fighters are dangerous, but I believe Borralho is the much more well-rounded of the two, and I expect that to be a major determining factor in the outcome of this bout. Although de Ridder’s striking isn’t the worst I’ve seen, he’s definitely a grappling specialist and at his best on the mat. Borralho is dangerous anywhere, and definitely has the grappling ability to match de Ridder on the mat. I expect Borralho to keep this fight standing, constantly lighting de Ridder up and pressuring him, not allowing him to get comfortable or secure takedowns. Although de Ridder was finished in his last fight, I believe his biggest weakness is his cardio, not his chin, and that won’t play as big a factor in a three-round fight, so it will likely be tough for Borralho to secure a finish. Regardless, I believe Borralho will win all three rounds en route to an impressive decision victory.
Holloway vs. Oliveira Over 2.5 Rounds: This is a highly anticipated rematch, eleven years in the making, between two of the UFC’s biggest fan favorites. Both of these fighters always put on a show, and I’d expect nothing less when they meet again inside the Octagon. Although both have recently been finished (by Ilia Topuria), they’re both renowned for their toughness and aren’t put away easily. I expect plenty of wild, entertaining exchanges in this fight, but I believe both of these fighters have plenty of respect for the other, and I wouldn’t expect either to come out guns blazing. I anticipate an early feeling-out process, with both taking their time and establishing their range before things really kick off. Both of these men are also former champions and know how to manage their cardio in a five-round fight, so I’d be surprised to see either taking big risks early on. As the fight continues, I expect things to heat up and for both to pursue a finish, but I’m confident this fight will last at least two and a half rounds.
