In Saturday's main event of UFC 326, Max Holloway defends the BMF title in a long-awaited rematch with Charles Oliveira. In the co-headliner, Caio Borralho and Reinier de Ridder look to get back into middleweight title contention.
Here are three key storylines ahead of the UFC's return to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Holloway, Oliveira try to keep undisputed title hopes alive
Holloway and Oliveira are living legends. Holloway is one of the three greatest featherweights in UFC history; he held the title from 2017-19 and has remained firmly in contention since then. Meanwhile, Oliveira had one of the most entertaining lightweight title reigns we've seen, finishing Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje in consecutive fights in 2021-22.
But at 34 and 36 years old, respectively, Holloway and Oliveira are starting to reach the now-or-never stage of their careers.
Saturday's main event could be a No. 1 contender fight. Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria is preparing to return to the Octagon later this year following a brief hiatus and will presumably take on Gaethje, who won the interim title at UFC 324. If and when that fight happens, Arman Tsarukyan should be next in line for the winner, but the UFC doesn't seem overly interested in promoting him (to be fair, Tsarukyan keeps giving the organization reasons for its lack of enthusiasm). That could pave the way for the Holloway-Oliveira winner to challenge for the undisputed belt.
Meanwhile, the loser of Saturday's main event might be saying goodbye to his title hopes. Oliveira has alternated wins and losses in his past seven Octagon appearances, and he's clearly a step below where he was a few years ago. Holloway has lost once in his last five outings and is closer to the prime of his career, but it's still tough to envision his path back to a title shot if he loses this weekend.
Can De Ridder get back on track?
De Ridder seemed destined for a middleweight title shot when he beat former champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi last July. The former ONE Championship two-division titleholder had won four straight to begin his UFC career and had just defeated one of the top fighters in the division's history.
But then the 35-year-old Dutchman lost to Brendan Allen at UFC Vancouver in October, failing to answer the bell between the fourth and fifth rounds after gassing out. Did De Ridder bite off more than he could chew by making weight and stepping into the Octagon five times in the span of 11 months? Or is he simply not quite as good as we thought, and that was exposed in his fight with Allen?
We'll find out whether De Ridder belongs in the title mix when he faces Borralho.
Will Rosas crack the top 15 at bantamweight?
Raul Rosas Jr. is facing the biggest test of his career.
Riding a four-fight winning streak, the 21-year-old bantamweight will take on longtime contender Rob Font on Saturday's main card. It's Rosas' first opportunity to break into the rankings. Font is No. 13 at 135 pounds, representing Rosas' first real test since he lost to Christian Rodriguez almost three years ago.
Font has been a gatekeeper for the last several years. He's lost to the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Jose Aldo while recording wins against Jean Matsumoto, Kyler Phillips, and Adrian Yanez. We know what the 38-year-old brings to the table at this point. If Rosas can beat Font, that'll give us a pretty good idea of what's in store for the Dana White's Contender Series alum as he continues to gain Octagon experience.
