Charles Oliveira defeated Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 326 on Saturday, dominating his old foe on the scorecards to win the “Baddest Motherf*****” title.
The Brazilian earned scores of 50-45 across all three judges to overcome the Hawaiian, 11 years after an injury cost Oliveira in their first clash.
The pair’s rematch took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where Holloway was hardly able to get a look-in as “Do Bronxs” took full advantage of his superiority of the ground.
The former lightweight champion dragged Holloway to the mat early into the first round and threatened to finish the fight there and then, with “Blessed” giving up his back and becoming susceptible to the rear-naked choke.
While the Hawaiian was just about able to evade the submission attempts, one of which was a nasty neck crank up against the fence, Oliveira stuck with a gameplan that all but shut out Holloway for the remainder of the fight.
Each round consisted of maybe 20 seconds on the feet before Oliveira relentlessly shot for the takedown, fighting through Holloway’s defences before suffocating the champion on the ground while also raining in slicing elbows to the champion’s skull. The Brazilian racked up a total of 20:41 of control time across the 25-minute main event.
Oliveira had the fight all tied up on the scorecards but nevertheless stuck to his word of throwing down with Holloway in the centre of the octagon for the final seconds as their bout went the distance.
Holloway cracked Oliveira with a sharp right but unlike against Justin Gaethje, there was no last-gasp knockout for “Blessed” who knew he’d been dethroned, with Oliveira’s chin staying strong.
With the belt on his shoulder, Oliveira made a plea to be squeezed onto the summer’s White House card which was finally announced during the broadcast, but not before giving fellow legend Holloway in the cage.
“I respect you so much, I admire you so much, we’re different from other people, we sell fights the other way,” he said. “My biggest pride is to represent my family just like you.
“These dudes come here and talk a lot of crap. We come here and do beautiful things.
“If this division has two BMFs, those BMFs are Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway.”
In the co-main event, Caio Borralho defeated fellow middleweight contender Reinier de Ridder via unanimous decision, bouncing back from a loss to Nassourdine Imavov in the process.
Borralho came out of the blocks flying in each round but saw his hopes of a knockout thwarted as De Ridder continually slowed down the fight, keeping him in the clinch and taking him to the ground.
The Brazilian nevertheless managed to see out the victory, with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27 in his favour.
Elsewhere on the main card, 21-year-old Raul Rosas Jr ground out a dominant victory over long-time bantamweight contender Rob Font, taking his win streak in the UFC to five.
Drew Dober slept Michael Johnson in a clash of veteran UFC lightweights, while Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues also produced a stunning knockout after coming in on short notice to replace Paulo Costa, starching Brunno Ferreira from close range.
There was also drama in the prelims, with former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt throwing up in the octagon after being dealt two low blows in quick succession. Despite continuing the fight and suffering a third groin shot from opponent Xiao Long, Garbrandt was able to see out victory courtesy of Xiao’s two docked points.
Full UFC 326 results:
Charles Oliveira def. Max Holloway via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Caio Borralho def. Reinier de Ridder via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Raul Rosas Jr def. Rob Font via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Drew Dober def. Michael Johnson via second-round knockout (punches, 1:53)
Gregory Rodrigues def. Brunno Ferreira via first-round knockout (right hook, 1:46)
Prelims
Cody Garbrandt def. Xiao Long via unanimous decision (28-27, 28-27, 28-27)
Donte Johnson def. Cody Brundage via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Alberto Montes def. Ricky Turcios via second-round submission (D’Arce choke, 0:40)
Nyamjargal Tumendemberel def. Cody Durden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Sumudaerji def. Jesus Aguilar via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Diyar Nurgozhay def. Rafael Tobias via uannimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Rodolfo Bellato def. Luke Fernandez via first-round knockout (punches, 2:42)
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