Charles Oliveira dominates Max Holloway to win BMF title in impressive fashion at UFC 326

Charles Oliveira completely outclassed Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 326.

After five rounds, all three judges scored the contest 50-45 to crown Oliveira the new BMF champion.

Getty

Getty

The lightweight stars met in the main event of UFC 326, after Dana White revealed the full card for the promotion’s historic White House show.

Oliveira was an underdog going into the headliner, but put himself in a great position to challenge for the undisputed lightweight title next with a spectacular performance.

‘Do Bronxs’ showed his utmost respect for Holloway after the clash, telling UFC CEO White that he’s ready for a fight at the White House or for the undisputed belt at 155lbs next.

Current lightweight king Ilia Topuria defends his title against Justin Gaethje in the main event of the White House card in June and Oliveira may well fight the winner.

UFC 326

Full results from Las Vegas

Main card

• Charles Oliveira def. Max Holloway via unanimous decision
• Caio Borralho def. Reinier de Ridder via unanimous decision
• Raul Rosas Jr def. Rob Font via unanimous decision
• Drew Dober def. Michael Johnson via second-round KO (punch)
• Gregory Rodrigues def. Brunno Ferreira via first-round KO (punch)

Prelims

• Cody Garbrandt def. Xiao Long via unanimous decision
• Donte Johnson def. Cody Brundage via split decision
• Alberto Montes def. Ricky Turcios via second-round submission (anaconda choke)
• Nyamjargal Tumendemberel def. Cody Durden via unanimous decision

Early prelims

• Sumudaerji def. Jesus Aguilar via unanimous decision
• Diyar Nurgozhay def. Rafael Tobias via unanimous decision
• Rodolfo Bellato def. Luke Fernandez via first-round KO (punches)

Holloway, meanwhile, said his game plan was to stick and move, which proved highly unsuccessful, but the 34-year-old added he would be back to ‘kick a**’ again soon.

What happened in Holloway-Oliveira 2?

The crowd inside the T-Mobile Arena roared far before the fight began and the main event instantly got off to an electric start.

Oliveira landed damaging leg kicks early on before going on the hunt for a quick stoppage, securing an early takedown with ease before taking Holloway’s back.

Holloway, who cracked a smile in the final minute of the round, showed excellent takedown defence to avoid Oliveira’s various submission attempts, but it was a dominant opening round for the Brazilian.

Oliveira immediately put Holloway in danger 30 seconds into round two, taking his opponent’s back and almost sneaking under the Hawaiian’s jaw to put him to sleep.

The majority of the second round was yet again spent on the ground as Oliveira sliced Holloway with nasty elbows.

Getty

However, just like the first five minutes, Holloway somehow managed to escape Oliveira’s submissions and entered round three knowing he needed to keep the fight on the feet.

After some sharp exchanges, Holloway briefly survived Oliveira’s first takedown defence of the third, until ‘Do Bronxs’ made an expert mid-air adjustment to take full control again.

Oliveira continued to dominate the fight, shocking UFC commentator Joe Rogan as to just how good he was performing, considering Holloway was a favourite among oddsmakers.

In the final minute, Oliveira dropped more elbows and was landing all kinds of shots as we entered the championship rounds, with the challenger definitively in the lead.

Holloway came out for round four looking deflated and breathing heavy, which was a stark contrast to Oliveira, who looked as fit as he did in the first.

Both men landed heavy shots, but the fight quickly entered the same pattern with Oliveira landing another takedown and dominating on the ground.

Getty

Getty

Getty

Oliveira landed more vicious elbows and had full control of Holloway as time ticked on.

“How do you not appreciate this complete domination by a master?” Rogan said, responding to the Las Vegas crowd booing as Oliveira continued his dominance on the canvas.

Holloway had a brief look at the clock, and although ‘Blessed’ was still doing extremely well not to get submitted, he was down four rounds with five minutes left on the clock.

Oliveira landed a massive right hand early in the final round and dived straight for the takedown.

But Holloway managed to sprawl and found himself on top of the challenger for the first time in the UFC 326 main event.

After trying to make his feet, Holloway had his back to the cage and Oliveira sensed an opening, securing another takedown to pin his opponent to the canvas once again.

In the final 10 seconds, both men disengaged and, in classic Holloway fashion, the pair stood and traded heavy blows before the final bell sounded.

Oliveira instantly exited the cage to thank friends and family as he knew victory was his.

“Max did not have any moments in this fight,” Rogan said.

Daniel Cormier added: “I do not know if I’ve ever seen him get beaten in this way.”

Oliveira, a former UFC lightweight champion, has fought for his division’s belt unsuccessfully twice in the past four years.

The 36-year-old was submitted by Islam Makhachev in 2022 and knocked out by Topuria at UFC 317 last June.

Although Topuria made light work of Oliveira when the pair met at UFC 317, the latter may fancy his chances in a rematch down the line.

Also in Sin City, Caio Borralho defeated Reinier de Ridder via unanimous decision after three rounds in a middleweight co-main event.

Drew Dober and Gregory Rodrigues both secured knockout finishes on the main card, while former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt threw up en route to his victory over Xiao Long.