Sooo ... About Last Night

Last night (Sat., July 11, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC 329. I know it, you know it, your mother likely knows it: this was the return of the sport’s biggest star Conor McGregor! After five years on the sidelines (or the yacht), The Mac was back in action against an old rival in Max Holloway, ready to put it all on the line. Lost in all the “Notorious” hubbub, however, was the pleasant surprise that the rest of the card was stacked with talent too! When former champions like Robert Whittaker and Cody Garbrandt are on the undercard, that’s a serious indicator of a great event.

Let’s take a look back over the best performances and techniques of the evening:

I’m Sorry, Ido Portal

Well … that was anticlimactic.

If you paid an ungodly amount of money to attend UFC 329, I understand being upset at the main event outcome: McGregor’s knee imploding in the literal opening second. Similarly, if you’re Max Holloway and just put in a lot of work to win a rematch, you have my sympathy. However, if, like me, you watched this unfortunate main event from the comfort of your living room for the usual cost of a Paramount+ subscription, there’s no reason to be upset.

UFC 329 was still an absolute banger of a fight card. Most every bout kicked ass. It didn’t end up needing McGregor to be an awesome watch.

Meanwhile, the Mac was old and washed when UFC 329 was booked, and he’ll be old and washed whenever he returns from this newest knee injury. Maybe he’ll rehire movement guru Ido Portal and avoid opening his next comeback with the dumbest flying kick of all time?

See y’all in five more years.

A Legit Baddy

I don’t think we can doubt Paddy Pimblett anymore.

“The Baddy” scored the best win of his career in seconds last night, effortlessly strangling Benoit Saint-Denis in the opening minute of their highly-anticipated Lightweight clash. “BSD” threw two punches and then shot for a double-leg takedown along the fence, and Pimblett was extremely ready for him. Right away, Pimblett used a guillotine choke — without pulling guard — to reverse Saint-Denis to his back. As Saint-Denis tried to scramble to freedom, Pimblett instead transitioned to a d’arce choke and managed to pull guard at the same time. Despite Saint-Denis’ best efforts, he was unable to create any space and quickly took a nap.

“BSD” had won four straight fights via finish leading into this matchup. He’s in the prime of his career, a damn good Lightweight by any metric, and Pimblett just smoked him like a brisket. Complain about Pimblett’s high chin and wonky boxing all you’d like, but it must be accepted that only elite contenders are able to effortlessly trounce a proven Top 10 contender like that.

It’s finally time for Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett.

Raw Dog Rallies

Brandon Royval did it again.

Royval is not a perfect fighter. His undeniably effective kickboxing has a jank to it that seems permanently built into his game. He’s not particularly hard to hit or take down. Yet, Royval’s combination of endless cardio and relentless opportunism means that capitalizing on those flaws is a very dangerous task, one that even elite fighters fail to accomplish.

“Raw Dog” started the fight well, using jabs and kick catches to frustrate the shorter man. He even landed a takedown of his own, which is a nice new wrinkle to his offense. In round two, however, Kavanagh cracked him with a beautiful pull counter, and Royval was forced to show off a different key aspect of his game: the ability to get his ass-kicked without crumbling! Kavanagh dropped the kitchen sink on Royval’s forehead, rocking him multiple times and cutting him open, yet Royval still ended the second pushing forward and landing shots.

The bloody brawling continued into round three, where a Royval takedown changed the course of the fight. Sharp elbows forced Kavanagh to concede bad positions, and Royval started attacking an arm triangle that soon led to a rear naked choke finish. It was brilliant work from the BJJ black belt, who was positively violent every time he managed to gain top position.

Roughly half of a year after his knockout loss to Manel Kape, Royval is back in the win column, still Top Five and still one of the most fun fighters on the roster. Meanwhile, Kavanagh clearly has a ton of talent and some real grit himself, but he still has some lessons to learn if he’s to be a champion someday.

No Dog In This Fight

King Green has been in this game forever. He’s not at his absolute best anymore, but the 39-year-old OG is still damn good. More importantly, he’ll take on all comers and never back down from a fight. He has strong self-belief, the kind of confidence that leads a fighter to numerous come-from-behind wins across a long career.

In many ways, Terrance McKinney is a perfect foil. In his athletic prime, McKinney is a physical monster, huge for the division with scary speed and power. He has all the physical tools to be a world champion. Unfortunately, McKinney has the most obvious fatal flaw in the division: he’s going to fall apart three minutes into the first round every single time.

King Green knew it too. Three minutes into the fight, Green was badly bloodied up with McKinney on his back, chasing the finish. Did Green look that concerned? I don’t believe Green ever stopped talking trash even with McKinney behind him, and he actually started throwing punches behind his own shoulder as the fight wore on. The veteran knew the fight was over simply because of the clock, even if on paper McKinney had already built a monumental lead.

True to form, Green got back to his feet with just seconds remaining in the round, and it only took a handful of punches to convince McKinney to crumble before the bell.

King Green is a f—king dog. Terrance McKinney? Not so much.

The Debut Of Light Heavyweight Bobby Knuckles

I have been covering this sport long enough to remember when Robert Whittaker won his season of The Ultimate Fighter as a Welterweight. That victory came 14 years and 23 fights ago, and now Whittaker made the bold choice to enter the twilight of his career in a new weight class.

The former Middleweight champion did not look like a full 205-pounder in his first divisional fight. In fact, he looked like he performed a Dragon Ball Z fusion dance with former opponent Kelvin Gastelum. Despite the new fridge physique, Whittaker’s strength, speed, and cardio held up reasonably well. He was able to resist Krylov’s early grappling assault, though it winded both of them. Afterward, Whittaker was still quick enough to beat Krylov to the punch and counter his many kicks with left hand shots.

Once Whittaker got rolling, it was classic “Bobby Knuckles.” The shotgun jab, double jab-cross, and hidden right high kick that fans know and love were all landing well. Those punches were hurting Krylov too, who definitely felt every clean connection from the former Middleweight king. The damage added up, culminating in an apparent broken jaw midway through the third that halted the contest.

Can Whittaker contend in his new home? I wouldn’t bet on it, yet “The Reaper” does hold a fairly recent win over Paulo Costa, who currently occupies the No. 7 position at Light Heavyweight. If Whittaker can dial in his weight a little bit, well, the division is wide open and crazier things have happened.

I’d like to see him face somebody like Dominick Reyes next.

Wrestling … Who Needs It?

Not Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, that’s for sure.

Now, Steveson enjoyed a massive edge in athleticism over Elisha Ellison, which makes it easier to neglect the wrestling and brawl it out. Still, Steveson deserves props. Just three fights into his pro career, Steveson took the center of the Octagon and performed well on his feet at a massive event. Ellison tried to take his head off and managed to land a couple decent shots, yet Steveson still ran over him like a freight train.

The most impressive part of Steveson’s attack was obviously that murderous front kick to the belly. Ellison ate two of those and looked like he wanted to go home. With a meanness that resembled his mentor Jon Jones, Steveson just kept stabbing his toes into the mid-section. As soon as Ellison’s posture broke from the body shots, Steveson would jump on him with ripping hooks.

Before too long, one of those hooks knocked Ellison cold. Steveson still has a long way to climb, but at 26, the division is wide open for a title run.

Additional Thoughts

• Adrian Yanez defeats Cody Garbrandt via first-round knockout (highlights): This scrap didn’t last long, but it was quite fun. Contrary to his last performance, Garbrandt was extremely aggressive from the first bell, and he actually stung Yanez several times in the opening minute or so. Before too long, however, Yanez found his timing and demonstrated why he was the significant favorite. He started countering Garbrandt’s blitzes with his right hand, and one of his counters rocked Garbrandt late in the round. Yanez followed up with an accurate pair of clubbing hooks that sealed the deal, putting Yanez back in the win column after a controversial draw with Ricky Simon.
• Luke Riley defeats Kai Kamaka III via first-round knockout: Kamaka started this bout really well, countering Riley’s long stance and aggressive boxing with heavy calf kicks and some well-timed counter left hooks. When a Riley right hand found its way inside that left hook, however, all of his good work was quickly erased. Kamaka hit the floor hard but bounced back to his feet. Riley flurried and continued to land heavy blows, then the referee moved in even as Kamaka was slipping and trying to clinch. Was it a bad stoppage? I think Kamaka was unlikely to survive the barrage, but the 27-fight veteran deserved the chance to try and was still intelligently defending himself. Either way, Riley now moves to 3-0 in the UFC, and he remains a quality Featherweight prospect.
• Damian Pinas defeats Cesar Almeida via first-round knockout (highlights): There’s a lot to like about “The Baba Yaga,” a large Middleweight with great composure and world-altering knockout power. Opposite a real kickboxing ace in Almeida, Pinas was perfectly comfortable trading kicks and lining up his right hand. He consistently answered back in the face of his opponent’s offense, and though he was initially a small step behind on the rhythm, he still found heavy low kicks and started to close in with his right. It only took a single clean right hand counter — perfectly timed to answer an inside low kick — to shut off the lights, announcing Pinas as a serious prospect at 185 pounds.
• Ryan Gandra defeats Zachary Reese via first-round knockout (highlights): There’s not a lot to break down here, as Gandra exploded into a beautiful leaping left hook early in the fight, catching Reese cold on the chin while the two were still warming up to the fight. Clearly, “Problema” has big power in his hands, as he’s now 2-0 inside the UFC with both wins coming via knockout. This was a serious step up in competition from his UFC debut, yet the fight lasted a mere 75 seconds. We’ll have to stay tuned to get a sense of Gandra’s overall potential and ceiling, but he’s a lot of fun at a minimum.
• Alessandro Costa defeats Cody Durden via second-round rear naked choke (highlights): Costa has developed into a really solid Flyweight. Taking after his teammate Diego Lopes, Costa kept a high guard and consistent pressure, looking to time counters and build combinations. Durden started really well with his movement and combinations, but he was sprinting to do so. When his feet started slowing late in the first, Costa began finding the mark with combinations and quickly rocked the wrestler. Durden entered round two bloody and a little fatigued, highly vulnerable when he slipped on a high kick. Moments later, Costa smoothly advanced into back mount and secured the rear naked choke for his third-straight finish win.

For complete UFC 329 results and play-by-play click here.