The BMF title was on the road because the Octagon returned to T-Cellular Enviornment in Las Vegas for an additional huge UFC numbered occasion.
The evening noticed Charles Oliveira dethrone Max Holloway because the UFC’s BMF champion, whereas a variety of fringe contenders claimed necessary victories for his or her respective careers.
Listed below are our energy rankings for the primary card winners from UFC 326 in Las Vegas.
UFC 326 Energy Rankings
1. Drew Dober
By way of a sheer “wow” second, Drew Dober’s flatlining of fellow light-weight vet Michael Johnson topped the listing of eye-catching performances on Saturday evening’s fundamental card.
He may not be ready to problem for championship gold, however Dober brings assured motion and pleasure to the Octagon each time he competes. From his walkout, to Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It”, to his all-action combating type, Dober is must-see TV each time he fights.
He wins some, he loses some. However when he wins, it’s usually highlight-reel stuff, and that’s precisely what he delivered on Saturday as he starched Johnson with a colossal shot to say his eleventh UFC knockout and prolong his document as the person with essentially the most UFC knockouts within the 155-pound division. It additionally earned him a $100,000 Efficiency of the Evening bonus.
2. Gregory Rodrigues
“Robocop” was on a revenge mission at UFC 326, and he obtained what he got here for.
Rodrigues was shocked within the first spherical by a debuting Brunno Ferreira once they first met again at UFC 283 in January 2023. However since then, Rodrigues has been on a terrific run that has solely been partially slowed by a loss to former title challenger Jared Cannonier.
However when he obtained the chance to exorcise his demons and avenge his loss to Ferreira at UFC 326, he took the chance with each fingers which, with a set of MMA gloves on, are among the many most harmful on this planet at 185 kilos.
He put his devastating knockout energy to good use to flatten Ferreira in lower than half the time it took for him to defeat Rodrigues of their first assembly as “Robocop” put issues proper with a jaw-dropping fini that noticed him choose up a cool $100k as one of many Performances of the Evening.
3. Charles Oliveira
Usually, if you win a title, you’d count on that achievement to trump the whole lot else in an influence rating, however on this event, now we have Charles Oliveira third. That’s no knock on his victory, or on the BMF title, which isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. It’s extra right down to the way in which Oliveira went about profitable the belt.
Tactically, the Brazilian couldn’t have been smarter. He leaned on his grappling in a approach few, together with Max Holloway, anticipated, and when he realized the ability hole on the mat was as clear because it was, he merely rinsed and repeated as he claimed a shutout win on the scorecards.
Was it ruthlessly efficient? Most actually. Was it the form of efficiency you’d need to see in a BMF title struggle? In all probability not. World titles are to be gained by any means needed – they’re the head of the game. However for the BMF belt, the place there’s an implied expectation of an motion struggle, there simply wasn’t the motion many had been hoping for.
Oliveira remains to be elite, and extra huge fights are absolutely coming his approach. However rightly or wrongly, it felt a little bit bit like with that efficiency we had been denied a basic and given simply one other struggle.
4. Caio Borralho
When Caio Borralho confronted Reinier de Ridder within the co-main occasion, it was a must-win for each males. Victory would ship the winner again in the direction of title competition, whereas defeat would consign the opposite to gatekeeper standing at 185 kilos.
And because the motion unfolded on Saturday evening, it was clear that it was Borralho who was the person greatest positioned to reenter the championship chat, as he pitched a shutout on the scorecards in opposition to a de Ridder who at instances appeared harmful, however at others, appeared demoralised.
Borralho’s unanimous resolution win will see him again within the combine, and a matchup with former champion Dricus Du Plessis is likely to be one potential problem forward for the Brazilian. As for de Ridder, after two considerably listless shows at 185, a transfer as much as mild heavyweight may very well be on the playing cards.
5. Raul Rosas Jr.
Who doesn’t love Raul Rosas Jr? The teenager, who burst into the UFC as a youngster, is loving stay within the Octagon, and he confirmed that he’s starting to emerge as a contender at 135 kilos.
Rosas made a giant step up in competitors on Saturday evening when he took on longtime ranked contender Rob Font at T-Cellular Enviornment, and he produced a terrific efficiency to win each spherical on each scorecard for a shutout victory over the Massachusetts man.
There’s nonetheless extra to come back from Rosas – whereas he dominated on the bottom, an absence of hanging offense on the deck was obvious – however his ahead progress has now taken him into the bantamweight high 15. Each struggle from here’s a banger, and he’s going to get examined like by no means earlier than. However together with his optimistic angle, and a willingness to study, there’s no purpose why Rosas couldn’t steadily work his approach into an elevated spot within the rankings.
