McGregor vs Holloway, Pimblett vs Saint Denis, Sandhagen vs Bautista Fight Picks – UFC 329 – July 11, 2026

Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway

  • Conor McGregor
  • Age: 37
  • UFC Record: 10-4
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Eddie Alvarez, and Donald Cerrone. Majority decision over Nate Diaz.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65).
  • Max Holloway
  • Age: 34
  • UFC Record: 2-2 at 155 lbs. 23-8 overall.
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Justin Gaethje, The Korean Zombie, Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo (twice), Anthony Pettis, and Charles Oliveira. Beat Dustin Poirier, Arnold Allen, Yair Rodriguez, Frankie Edgar, Jeremy Stephens and Ricardo Lamas.
  • Striking: near plus plus (75)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)

Chris’ Pick: Holloway by 4th round knockout.


Paddy Pimblett vs Benoit Saint Denis

  • Paddy Pimblett
  • Age: 30
  • UFC Record: 6-0
  • Key Wins: Submitted King Green, Jordan Leavitt, Kazula Vargas, a 7-0 grappler, a well rounded 8-3 fighter, a 10-2 grappler, and an 8-2 wrestler. Knocked out Michael Chandler, Luigi Vendramini, and a well rounded 11-4 fighter. Beat Tony Ferguson and Julian Erosa.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Grappling: plus (70)
  • Benoit Saint Denis
  • Age: 30
  • UFC Record: 9-2 at 155 lbs. 9-3 overall.
  • Key Wins: Submitted Mauricio Ruffy, Ismael Bonfim, Niklas Stolze, a 4-0 striker, an 8-1 grappler, a 6-2 striker, and a 15-4 striker. Knocked out Dan Hooker, Beneil Dariush, Matt Frevola, Thiago Moises, Gabriel Miranda, and a 13-4 grappler.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Grappling: plus (70)

Chris’ Pick: Pimblett by 2nd round knockout.


Cory Sandhagen vs Mario Bautista

  • Cory Sandhagen
  • Age: 34
  • UFC Record: 11-5
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Frankie Edgar, Marlon Moraes, and Iuri Alcantara. Submitted Mario Bautista. Beat Rob Font, Yadong Song, and Raphael Assuncao. Split decision wins over Marlon Vera and John Lineker.
  • Striking: near plus plus (75)
  • Power: near plus plus (75)
  • Wrestling: near plus plus (75)
  • Mario Bautista
  • Age: 32
  • UFC Record: 11-3
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Miles Johns. Submitted Guido Cannetti, Benito Lopez, and Brian Kelleher. Beat Patchy Mix, Ricky Simon, Da’Mon Blackshear, a well rounded 9-3 fighter and a 7-1-2 wrestler. Split decision over Jose Aldo.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Grappling: near plus plus (75)

Chris’ Pick: Sandhagen by decision.


Brandon Royval vs Lone’er Kavanagh

  • Brandon Royval
  • Age: 33
  • UFC Record: 7-5
  • Key Wins: Submitted Matt Schnell, Kai Kara France, Tim Elliott, Joby Sanchez and a 5-1 striker. Knocked out Matheus Nicolau a 7-1 grappler. Beat a well rounded 7-1 fighter. Split decision wins over Tatsuro Taira, Brandon Moreno, and Rogerio Bontorin.
  • Striking: near plus plus (75)
  • Power: near plus plus (75)
  • Grappling: plus (70)
  • Lone’er Kavanagh
  • Age: 26
  • UFC Record: 4-1
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a 6-0 striker and a well rounded 4-0 fighter. Beat Brandon Moreno, Felipe dos Santos, Jose Ochoa, and a 6-0 striker.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)

Chris’ Pick: Royval by decision.


Gable Stevenson vs Elisha Ellison

  • Gable Stevenson
  • Age: 26
  • Pro Record: 3-0
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 11-3 fighter.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)
  • Elisha Ellison
  • Age: 29
  • Pro Record: 5-2
  • UFC Record: 0-1
  • Striking: a little above average (55)
  • Power: a little above average (55)
  • Wrestling: average (50)

Chris’ Pick: Stevenson by 1st round knockout.


Robert Whittaker vs Nikita Krylov

  • Robert Whittaker
  • Age: 35
  • UFC Record: 14-5 at 185 lbs.
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Renier de Ridder.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Ikram Aliskerov, Derek Brunson, Jacare Souza. Beat Paulo Costa, Yoel Romero (twice), MarvinJared Cannonier, and Uriah Hall.
  • Striking: near plus plus (75)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)
  • Nikita Krylov
  • Age: 34
  • UFC Record: 11-8
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Modestas Bukauskas, Alexander Gustafsson, Ed Herman, and Walt Harris. Submitted Ryan Spann, Marcos Rogerio de Lima, Francimar Barroso, and Ovince St. Preux. Beat Volkan Oezdemir.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)

Chris’ Pick: Whittaker by decision.


Luke Riley vs Kai Kamaka III

  • Luke Riley
  • Age: 26
  • Pro Record: 13-0
  • UFC Record: 2-0
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a 9-2 grappler, a 5-0 wrestler, and a well rounded 6-2 fighter. Beat Michael Aswell and a 10-3 grappler.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)
  • Kai Kamaka III
  • Age: 31
  • Pro Record: 18-7-1
  • UFC Record: 2-2-1
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to TJ Brown.
  • Key Draws: Fought Danny Chavez to majority draw.
  • Key Wins: Beat a 6-1 wrestler and a well rounded 4-0 fighter. Split decision over Dakota Hope.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: average (50)
  • Wrestling: a little above average (55)

Chris’ Pick: Riley by decision.


Cesar Almeida vs Damian Pinas

  • Cesar Almeida
  • Age: 38
  • UFC Record: 4-2
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Roman Kopylov.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Abdul Razak Alhassan and Dylan Budka. Beat Ihor Potieria and a 9-1 striker.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)
  • Damian Pinas
  • Age: 24
  • Pro Record: 9-1
  • UFC Record: 2-0
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Wesley Schultz, an 8-1 striker, an 11-3 grappler, and a 6-2 striker.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)

Chris’ Pick: Almeida by 1st round knockout.


Cody Garbrandt vs Adrian Yanez

  • Cody Garbrandt
  • Age: 34
  • UFC Record: 10-6 at 135 lbs. 10-7 overall.
  • Key Losses: Knocked out by Pedro Munhoz.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Raphael Assuncao and Thomas Almeida. Beat Long Xiao, Trevin Jones, and Dominick Cruz.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)
  • Adrian Yanez
  • Age: 32
  • UFC Record: 7-3-1
  • Key Losses: Split decision losses to Daniel Marcos, Domingo Pilarte in 2017, and Miles John in 2018.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Vinicius Salvador, Tony Kelley, Randy Costa, Gustavo Lopez, a 5-2 striker, and a well rounded 11-1 fighter. Submitted a 5-2 grappler. Split decision over Davey Grant.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Yanez by 1st round knockout.


Tracy Cortez vs Cong Wang

  • Tracy Cortez
  • Age: 32
  • UFC Record: 6-2
  • Key Wins: Beat Jasmine Jasudavicius, Melissa Gatto, Mariya Agapova, and Stephanie Egger. Split decision wins over Justin Kish and a well rounded 3-0 fighter.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)
  • Wang Cong
  • Age: 34
  • Pro Record: 7-1
  • UFC Record: 3-1
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Victoria Leonardo. Submitted a 5-2 striker. Beat Eduarda Moura, Wu Yanan and a well rounded 3-1 fighter.
  • Striking: near plus plus (75)
  • Power: near plus plus (75)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)
  • Grappling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Wang by decision.


Farid Basharat vs Ethyn Ewing

  • Farid Basharat
  • Age: 28
  • UFC Record: 7-0
  • Key Wins: Submitted Kleydson Rodrigues. Beat Chris Gutierrez, Victor Hugo, Taylor Lapilus, Da’Mon Blackshear, a well rounded 7-1 fighter, and a well rounded 4-0 fighter. Split decision over Jean Matsumoto.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Grappling: plus (70)
  • Ethyn Ewing
  • Age: 28
  • Pro Record: 10-2
  • UFC Record: 2-0
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Rafael Estevam, Billy Brand and a well rounded 6-1 fighter. Beat Malcolm Wellmaker and a well rounded 4-1 fighter.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)

Chris’ Pick: Basharat by decision.


Cody Durden vs Ode Osbourne

  • Cody Durden
  • Age: 35
  • UFC Record: 7-8-1
  • Key Draws: Fought Chris Guttierez to a draw.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out JP Buys and a 6-2 grappler. Submitted Matt Schnell and a 10-3 wrestler. Beat Jafel Filho, Jake Hadley, Charles Johnson, Carlos Mota, and Qileng Aori.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: average (50)
  • Grappling: near plus (65)
  • Ode Osbourne
  • Age: 34
  • UFC Record: 6-7
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Luis Gurule, Zarrukh Adashev. Submitted a well rounded 5-1 fighter. Beat CJ Vergara. Split decision over Charles Johnson.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Osbourne by decision.


Ryan Gandra vs Zachary Reese

  • Ryan Gandra
  • Age: 31
  • Pro Record: 9-1
  • UFC Record: 2-0
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 8-2 fighter, a well rounded 4-0 fighter, a 3-0 striker, and a 13-4 grappler.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Wrestling: a little above average (55)
  • Zachary Reese
  • Age: 32
  • UFC Record: 4-3
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Michel Pereira.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Julian Marquez. Submitted a well rounded 6-0 fighter. Beat Dusko Todorovic and Jose Medina.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Grappling: above average (60)

Chris’ Pick: Reese by decision.