Nearly five years to the day since his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier ended in a snapped leg, the 'Notorious One', Conor McGregor, makes the walk to the Octagon against Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329. In the co-main, Paddy Pimblett and Benoit Saint Denis go head-to-head in the battle of the lightweight contenders. Cory Sandhagen takes on Mario Bautista, and Rob Whittaker fights back on the undercard for the first time in what feels like forever against Nikita Krylov. We take a look at my best bets on the UFC 329 card belowQ
UFC 329 Preview & Betting Tips
Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
This is a rematch almost 13 years on from their first meeting, so it’s basically a new fight entirely. The last time they met, Conor McGregor was the hottest rising prospect in the UFC and Max Holloway was full of potential. Now, Holloway has established himself as one of the greatest boxers the sport has seen, and McGregor is winless since 2020.
At 37 years old and on the back of a fractured tibia and fibula, I think it’s safe to say he won’t have the same elite movement, timing, and counter-striking that made him a double champion.
While Holloway is slowing down, he has still shown he is up there with the elite in the sport. Holloway’s last two losses came to Charles Oliveira and Ilia Topuria, hardly bad defeats.
That being said, if it was a three-round fight. I’d probably favour McGregor, given he will have a size advantage over Holloway and the Hawaiian’s granite chin is starting to chip. Yet over five rounds, if McGregor can’t put one on the button early, he is in for a rough night. The Irishman's cardio has never been a strong suit, and against a cardio machine who throws volume like Holloway, it’s a recipe for disaster. Back Holloway to stop McGregor and send him off into the sunset, AKA bare-knuckle boxing.
Max Holloway by KO/TKO
$1.97 (3 Units)
Nikita Krylov vs. Rob Whittaker
Rob Whittaker has been banished to the undercard, which is rather harsh, but his last performance was a stinker. Losing to Reinier de Ridder in what was primarily a striking battle is a bad loss, but even still, he is levels above a toiler like Nikita Krylov.
Krylov is coming into this fight off of a win against Modestas Bukauskas, where he looked slow and lacked volume. He was simply fortunate that his foe was even slower and threw less volume. Before that, Krylov was knocked out in back-to-back fights by Dominick Reyes and Bogdan Guskov.
His last win before this year was way back in March 2023 when he submitted Ryan Spann.
Simply, if Whittaker loses this, he needs to hang them up. The Aussie is the faster, smarter and more accurate fighter who is levels above Krylov in each area of MMA.
Rob Whittaker to win
$1.65 (4 Units)
Kai Kamaka III vs. Luke Riley
We go deep down on the undercard for my final pick, which comes in the shape of Luke Riley. The Englishman is an undefeated fighter (13-0) who is still incredibly raw. But he gets an absolute layup of a fight here against Kai Kamaka III. Kamaka returned to the UFC with a split decision win over Dakota Hope - who was dumped from the UFC after just one fight.
Kamaka is not UFC-calibre, and Riley is a promising prospect. This should be a one-sided beatdown. I do, however, believe Riley may struggle to find the finish, and therefore I will take him outright.
Luke Riley to win
$1.37 (5 Units)
UFC 329 3-Leg Multi
Leg 1: Holloway by KO ($1.97)
Leg 2: Whittaker to Win ($1.65)
Leg 3: Riley to Win ($1.37)
UFC 329 Multi
$4.45 (1 Unit)
