UFC 326: Biggest Takeaways of the Night

UFC 326 has come to a close, which means that fans and fighters of the sport are ready to give their own thoughts. The main event between Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira was completely one-sided, with the latter using his powerful ground control to dominate the fight. Now that ‘Do Bronxs’ has the BMF title, he has put himself in an interesting conversation within the Lightweight Division. Furthermore, a number of other fighters on the card came to impress and climb up the rankings. However, not all fights were well-executed, with some having to be temporarily stopped due to foul play. Also, during the card was a Paramount glitch that infuriated many fans. So what exactly can we take away from this wild night of fights?

‘Do Bronxs’ Still Has It and Could Go For More

While the main event was quite underwhelming for some fans, there is no doubt that Oliveira was wildly impressive, managing to shut down the UFC’s deadliest striker. After a long tenure in the UFC, the new BMF champion is already a legend of the sport. He now sits in an interesting position in the division where he could be set for another title shot. As Ilia Topuria makes his return to fight Justin Gaethje at the White House card in June, Oliveira’s dominant victory last night could be worthy of propelling him towards even more gold after the White House headliner, especially with Arman Tsarukyan not being in good spirits with the UFC currently due to his RAF 06 event brawl last month. Regardless of what happens in his near future with the sport, Oliveira has proved that he’s still got gas left in the tank.

A Night of Knockouts and Foul Play

The main card started off with a quick knockout from Gregory Rodrigues, putting his opponent, Brunno Ferreira, through the mat with just one punch. Rodrigues continues to work his way up the Middleweight ladder with his exciting fights and finishes. Another crazy finish happened moments later when Drew Dober put out the lights of Michael Johnson in round two, earning himself a performance of the night bonus. However, some fights on the card were not as clean and calculated, with there being two big groin hits throughout the night. Cody Garbrandt and Caio Borrahlo were on the receiving end of these hits, with the former even having to puke in a bucket mid-fight. Even though both fighters won their fights, there definitely needs to be new restrictions in place for foul play in the octagon. Whether it is an accident or not, many fighters have suffered tremendously in the past from cruel hits and pokes, most notably Tom Aspinall, which presents a problem that the UFC needs to solve.

Will Paramount Rise or Plunder For the Sport?

One alarming moment of the night happened during the main event, when suddenly a blacked-out screen appeared, preventing fans from seeing a small part of the fight. Fans were quick to take to ‘X’ to blame Paramount for this glitch. There have also been many complaints from fans in the past few months regarding the constant commercials and lack of “corner talk” during the fights. Dana White has come out to say that all fans should be grateful, especially for the significantly lower price to watch UFC fights now. It has only been a few months of using the new streaming system for the sport, so Paramount deserves some grace in trying to juggle everything perfectly. However, if things like this continue, the company could lose subscribers, and fans would find other ways to watch the fights.