Potential matchups after UFC 326

Charles Oliveira takes on Conor McGregor

Oliveira was able to dominate reigning BMF belt holder Max Holloway at UFC 326. Oliveira was able to take Holloway down and keep him there with seemingly no answer throughout the fight. 

Oliveira was flatlined by the champion, Ilia Topuria, at UFC 317. Even after two wins over Mateusz Gamrot and Holloway since then, Oliveira seemingly won't get the next title shot after the White House bout of Topuria and interim champion Justin Gaethje. 

McGregor has mentioned returning against the winner of Holloway and Oliveira. With it unlikely that Oliveira gets a title shot, it makes a ton of sense to create this matchup.

Any fight with McGregor brings more eyes to the UFC. With more eyes, it will seemingly mean more money for Oliveira in that fight. If the title isn’t an option, a fight that has been wished for by fans for more than half a decade would be a great second option.

Holloway fights Paddy Pimblett

With Holloway getting dominated, there really isn’t a fight higher in the rankings for him. A bounce-back fight against Pimblett, who could have the most hype in the UFC, would certainly have its benefits for Holloway. 

In Gaethje’s matchup with Pimblett, Gaethje was able to land volume on Pimblett. Volume striking is the forte of Holloway. With his skillset, he could end up being the first guy to knock Pimblett out.

Pimblett would get the opportunity to redeem himself after losing to Gaethje at UFC 324. Pimblett has great pressure when he fights, so a Holloway matchup could end up being a slugfest.

Caio Borralho fights Anthony Hernandez

Borralho bounced back after his loss to Nassourdine Imavov in 2025. He was able to land cleanly throughout the fight with Reinier de Ridder to get the unanimous decision win. 

Borralho struggled in the fight, especially late in each round. It seemed as though he was gassed. Borralho had De Ridder wobbled multiple times, but it seemed he was too tired to capitalize. 

A fight with Hernandez makes sense. Hernandez just came off the TKO loss from Sean Strickland. He has amazing cardio and would be the best pure wrestler Borralho has faced. A win over Hernandez would likely get Borralho in the conversation for a title shot. 

For Hernandez, it makes sense to fight Borralho. Coming off the loss, he’d be getting a top-10 opponent with crisp striking. He could get his name right back in the title-shot conversation as well.

Reinier de Ridder fights Gregory Rodrigues

De Ridder is now on a two-fight losing streak after going undefeated in his first five UFC fights. It would seem he’s going to have to fight lower in the rankings to prove himself. 

A great fight would be Rodrigues, who knocked out Brunno Ferreira at UFC 326.

Rodrigues is a hard-hitting striker with one-punch knockout power. Seeing De Ridder use a mix of striking and his high level jiu jitsu would be a fun fight to see.

Raul Rosas Jr. fights Marlon Vera

Rosas was able to get the unanimous decision win over Rob Font. It was grappling domination by Rosas with 16 takedowns and 10 minutes of control time. 

Rosas will be ranked after this win. He’s a young prospect with a lot of hype. A fun fight would be to see how Rosas handles Vera, a polished striker with good grappling defense. If Vera can shut down Rosas' grappling, it would be fun to see how Rosas uses his striking. 

Vera is on a four-fight losing streak and needs a win. A veteran of the sport, his experience could give him the edge over the 21-year-old Rosas.