UFC 329 Results: Holloway Spoils McGrgeor’s Return, Pibblett Shines
The main event of UFC 329 came to an end in an all-too-familiar scene, leaving us with many of the same questions we had before the fight.
Was the Conor McGregor who took the sport by storm simply a memory? After five years away, was “The Mac” really back, as he proclaimed throughout fight week?
The answer came quickly—and to the disappointment of the fans who helped produce the largest gate in UFC history.
McGregor exploded out of his corner with a jumping roundhouse kick but landed awkwardly, immediately compromising his right leg. Every subsequent kick attempt left him unstable, repeatedly collapsing to the canvas. With the former simultaneous two-division champion clearly in pain and unable to continue, the bout was waved off in anticlimactic fashion.
Until the extent of the injury is known, speculation will inevitably begin. Did McGregor enter the fight injured, much like he did against Dustin Poirier five years ago? Can his body still withstand the demands of elite mixed martial arts?
In what should have been one of the greatest victories of his career, Max Holloway’s win will unfortunately be overshadowed by McGregor’s injury.
Paddy Pimblett’s greatest strength has always been his ability to capitalize on his opponents’ mistakes, and he did exactly that once again.
After falling just short in his bid for the interim lightweight title against Justin Gaethje, the English fan favorite returned in emphatic fashion, submitting Benoit Saint Denis in under a minute. “The God of War” opened aggressively with a double-leg takedown but momentarily left his neck exposed. Pimblett immediately locked up a D’Arce choke, putting the Frenchman to sleep and reminding everyone that “The Baddy” remains a major player in the lightweight division.
The featured bout between Mario Bautista and Cory Sandhagen was a high-level chess match with momentum swinging throughout.
Bautista constantly pressured forward and, in the opening round, took Sandhagen’s back while attacking his leg, appearing to pop the knee. Sandhagen’s active lead hand opened a cut around Bautista’s right eye, but a perfectly timed right hook from Bautista dropped Sandhagen and ultimately proved to be the difference on the scorecards, evening the series after losing their first meeting earlier in his UFC career.
Facing the possibility of falling out of title contention, Brandon Royval reminded everyone why he remains one of the flyweight division’s elite.
Royval relied heavily on his wrestling early, putting Lone’er Kavanagh on his back in the opening round. Kavanagh rallied in the second and third, hurting Royval with clean strikes, but the veteran answered immediately. Royval secured another takedown in the third, nearly finished an arm-triangle choke from mount before transitioning to the back, where he locked in a rear-naked choke for the submission victory.
Friends turned rivals, King Green and Terrance McKinney delivered exactly the firefight fans expected.
Throughout fight week, Green spoke openly about feeling betrayed by a friendship that had fallen apart. McKinney struck first, landing a left hook that opened a cut over Green’s eye before attacking the body, forcing the fight to the mat and appearing moments away from a stoppage. Somehow Green survived, escaped the position, and landed a massive counter shot to stop McKinney in the final second of the opening round.
Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker made a successful light heavyweight debut, becoming just the 19th fighter in UFC history to win bouts in three different weight classes.
Nikita Krylov’s plan to use his size and physicality worked briefly before Whittaker completely took over on the feet. Every attempt by Krylov to close the distance was met with sharp counters, repeatedly snapping his head back as Whittaker showcased his trademark precision striking.
The most hyped heavyweight prospect in MMA entered the Octagon and delivered on every bit of the anticipation.
2021 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson dominated Elisha Ellison from start to finish. Steveson mixed in body kicks, crushing knees from the clinch, powerful wrestling, and surprisingly polished boxing combinations. A perfectly placed left hook started the finishing sequence as Steveson announced himself as a serious addition to the heavyweight division.
Adrian Yanez added one of the biggest names of his career to his résumé, stopping former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt in the opening round for the 12th knockout victory of his career.
Garbrandt came out aggressively, looking to drag Yanez into a brawl, but Yanez remained composed. After resetting, he rocked “No Love” with a pair of overhand rights before finishing the fight with two more overhands in the clinch followed by a left hook that forced Herb Dean to intervene. Coming off a majority draw and a split-decision loss, it was a much-needed statement victory.
Liverpool’s Luke Riley passed the toughest test of his UFC career, stopping veteran Kai Kamaka at 3:03 of the opening round.
The English featherweight improved to 3-0 inside the Octagon while collecting the 10th knockout victory of his career. A straight right hand dropped Kamaka, and although the Hawaiian battled back to his feet, Riley unleashed a relentless barrage of strikes to secure the finish.
Kickboxing specialist Wang Cong continued her climb up the flyweight rankings with a unanimous decision victory over longtime UFC contender Tracy Cortez, though not without controversy.
Wang punished Cortez with damaging low kicks throughout the fight and opened a cut beneath her left eye early. In the second round, Wang was deducted a point after landing an illegal knee to a grounded opponent. Despite the mistake, she remained composed and controlled the remainder of the fight with her technical striking.
Middleweight prospect Damian Pinas delivered one of the night’s most spectacular knockouts, flattening Cesar Almeida with a perfectly timed straight right hand counter to a low kick. Pinas also showed excellent sportsmanship by pulling back follow-up punches as the referee stepped in.
Competing in the final fight of his UFC contract, No. 10-ranked bantamweight Farid Basharat earned a unanimous decision over late replacement John Garza II.
Basharat deserves credit for his disciplined game plan, utilizing damaging low kicks, managing range, and repeatedly securing takedowns. However, Garza’s toughness was impossible to ignore. He constantly pressured forward, forced Basharat to work for every takedown attempt, invested heavily in body shots, and never stopped competing. Even in defeat, Garza left the Octagon smiling, looking every bit like a fighter with a bright future.
Ryan Gandra’s momentum continues to build.
The middleweight improved to 2-0 in the UFC by knocking out Zach Reese with a spectacular leaping left hook, earning his fourth consecutive first-round knockout.
Flyweight prospect André Costa capped off the prelims by catching Cody Durden’s kick, taking his back, and securing a second-round rear-naked choke. It marked Costa’s first UFC submission victory and his third consecutive finish inside the Octagon.
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