The UFC has introduced a lot of fights for UFC 326, which is able to happen on March seventh at T-Cell Area in Las Vegas, with Max Holloway set to defend his BMF title and headline the cardboard towards Charles Oliveira. Alongside the primary occasion, the promotion revealed a number of secondary matchups that fill out what’s shaping as much as be a powerful card.
Brian Ortega vs. Renato Moicano added to UFC 326
Brian Ortega will make his long-awaited transfer to light-weight and face Renato Moicano in a rematch of 2017’s UFC 214. Ortega, a former two-time featherweight title challenger, has struggled to take care of the 145-pound weight restrict in his most up-to-date bouts and was moved to a catchweight of 153 kilos in his final bout after experiencing extreme minimize points.
Moicano, 34, dropped a unanimous choice to Aljamain Sterling at UFC Shanghai in August and hasn’t recorded a win since submitting Yair Rodriguez in February 2024. Moicano, a 36-year-old Brazilian ranked No. 10 within the light-weight division, comes off a dropping streak. He challenged Islam Makhachev for his light-weight title at UFC 311 in January, however misplaced to a Darce choke within the opening spherical.
He then fought Beneil Darish at UFC 317 in June, however misplaced by unanimous choice. Their first assembly at UFC 214 ended with Ortega scoring a guillotine choke submission within the third spherical, a efficiency that earned him Struggle of the Night time honors. Moicano then relocated to america, the place he received 4 occasions by rear-naked choke and constructed a fame as one of many division’s submission threats.
Two middleweight contests anchor the highest tier of the cardboard. Ranked No. 7, Caio Boralho will tackle former ONE Championship 2-division titleholder Reinier de Ridder in a match with vital title implications. Boralho’s seven-fight successful streak within the UFC got here to an finish with a cut up choice loss to Nasrudin Imavov at UFC Paris in September 2025.
The 32-year-old Brazilian, who had wins over Jared Cannonier and Paul Craig earlier than dropping, has emerged as one of the versatile strikers within the division, mixing boxing, wrestling and grappling. De Ridder, who’s ranked No. 9 within the middleweight division, has additionally regained momentum after a latest setback.
The 34-year-old joined the UFC in late 2024 and rapidly rose by the ranks with a four-fight successful streak that included finishes over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland and Bo Niccal, in addition to a cut up choice win over Robert Whittaker. His loss got here by submission when Brendan Allen compelled De Ridder to throw within the towel in his nook between the fourth and fifth rounds at UFC Vancouver in October.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt returns to face Xiao Lengthy in a 135-pound bout. Garbrandt, 34, will look to finish a two-fight dropping streak with choices over Deiveson Figueiredo and Raoni Barcelos. Since successful the bantamweight title with a dominant efficiency towards Dominick Cruz at UFC 207 in 2016, his trajectory has been on a steep decline.
This victory marked the excessive level of his profession, and since then he has a report of three wins and seven losses in his final 10 fights. His transfer to flyweight and subsequent return to bantamweight has not stabilized his place within the division. Xiao Lengthy, a 27-year-old from China, earned a UFC contract after a powerful efficiency on the 2023 Highway to UFC occasion and has a 1-2 report within the promotion. He received his debut match by submission towards Chan-ho Lee, however then misplaced a call to Su Yong-yu and a cut up choice to Chan-ho Lee.
Hsiao has 14 profession stoppages on his resume, suggesting he has ending capacity, however consistency has confirmed elusive. For Garbrandt, this represents a must-win state of affairs. One other loss would possible shut the door on a sensible bantamweight title shot, making this matchup a profession crossroads of types.
