The main and co-main events of UFC 329 lasted a combined two minutes of fight time, but a whole lot happened. Conor McGregor was injured seconds into his fight against Max Holloway, and Paddy Pimblett submitted Benoît Saint Denis almost immediately. Both of those results opened new possibilities, such as, maybe, Holloway and Pimblett going head-to-head next?
Other winners on the card Mario Bautista and Brandon Royval are suddenly back in the mix at the top of their respective divisions. Both fighters may be just one fight away from a title shot. Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker also expanded his horizons in the light heavyweight division. With a win over veteran Nikita Krylov, the wild landscape at light heavyweight right now is suddenly Whittaker's to explore.
Let's take a look at the most likely scenarios and a wild-card fight for each of these UFC 329 winners.
Max Holloway and Paddy Pimblett, lightweights
Who should be next: Each other
Pimblett vs. Holloway wasn't on my radar going into Saturday, but it's the most logical next step now. Pimblett turned in a superstar moment, and Holloway was robbed of a chance to create one. Immediately after Pimblett fought, my thoughts went to a matchup against McGregor or Ilia Topuria. But after watching the main event and looking at the rankings, Holloway vs. Pimblett feels like the one to make. In some ways, I don't know what the UFC does with Holloway if not this. From a rankings standpoint, it makes the most sense for the division. I believe Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira are destined for a rematch. That leaves these two as obvious dance partners, and that's a great potential fight.
Wild card for Holloway: Quillan Salkilld
When Holloway lost to Oliveira in March, Holloway thought he would need to fight down the rankings and defend his spot before looking upward again. This opportunity against McGregor came as a surprise, and Holloway was happy to take it. If Pimblett isn't next, Holloway might be where he thought he was four months ago, fighting down the rankings. Salkilld is ranked No. 8 at lightweight by the UFC, and of the top 10, he is the most intriguing new contender. Stylistically, this fight would be 10 out of 10.
Wild card for Pimblett: Ilia Topuria
Pimblett and Topuria faced off in the Octagon following Topuria's win over Oliveira at UFC 317 last year. Before that, Pimblett threw a hand sanitizer bottle at him in 2022. There is a beef here that really should be settled. It's still unclear when Topuria will want to come back after losing the title to Justin Gaethje last month, but if the timing works, this is the biggest fight the UFC could book for Pimblett. Or Topuria for that matter. It would also be one of the biggest fights of the year, which is saying something in a year that already has seen plenty of marquee matchups.
Mario Bautista, men's bantamweight
Who should be next: Sean O'Malley
O'Malley vs. Bautista is the right fight to make. Whether it gets made, however, is uncertain. O'Malley is in the mix for a title shot, but to be fair, Bautista's win over Cory Sandhagen on Saturday is more impressive than O'Malley's over Aiemann Zahabi. Yes, O'Malley got a terrific knockout at the White House, but no one can say O'Malley is more deserving of a title fight right now than Bautista. Defending champion Petr Yan is expected to face Merab Dvalishvili next. Book O'Malley vs. Bautista on the same card. The two are friendly, as they've both trained at MMA Lab in Phoenix. I honestly don't see the UFC making this matchup, but it's undeniably the one to book.
Wild card: David Martinez
Mexico's Martinez recently pulled out of a scheduled bout against Umar Nurmagomedov later this month. Depending on when he's ready to go again, this is one the UFC could take a serious look at. Martinez was already on the promotion's radar for a big, highly ranked fight. Bautista wants a title shot and is deserving of one, but it's unlikely it would happen next. He'll need to take another fight, and this is the one I could see the UFC offering.
Brandon Royval, men's flyweight
Who should be next: Brandon Moreno
There's that old question, "Who is the best UFC fighter to never win a championship?" I'm not saying the answer is Royval, but I think he at least deserves some love in the conversation at this point.
Saturday's matchup against 27-year-old Lone'er Kavanagh was a tough fight for Royval. It was the one he was set up to lose, clearing the way for new blood. And Royval just refused to go down. He is 3-3 in his past six, but the losses have come to the absolute cream of the crop in Alexandre Pantoja, Joshua Van and Manel Kape. Saturday represented one of his most impressive wins, given the momentum behind Kavanagh. There's almost no one for Royval to fight now, because he's already fought every top flyweight. The one that makes the most sense to me is a trilogy with Moreno. These guys are 1-1, going back to 2020. If the score is settled in favor of Royval, he could fight for a title.
Wild card: Asu Almabayev
Royval actually called out Almabayev following his win on Saturday, which just shows what a star he is. He beat Kavanagh, who was ranked No. 5 by the UFC, and his first move was to call out Almabayev, who is ranked No. 6. Very few fighters would do that. Royval is entertaining, he's down to challenge himself and he's a couple of breaks away from being a UFC champion. It could still happen.
Robert Whittaker, light heavyweight
Who should be next: Dustin Jacoby
The light heavyweight divsion is really weird right now. The champion, Carlos Ulberg, is injured. Alex Pereira is still in the official UFC rankings, even though he recently fought at heavyweight. Jamahal Hill announced that he is moving up to heavyweight. Paulo Costa just broke into the UFC's top five, and Whittaker beat him at middleweight two years ago. Things are in shambles at 205 pounds. That said, there are some fun matchups here for Whittaker as he settles into his new weight class. Out of the options, Jacoby stands out to me. Jacoby is a veteran of the division, is on a four-fight win streak and has a fun style to match up against Whittaker. Jacoby has a fight booked at the end of the month against Uran Satybaldiev. If he wins, there's a chance he's in the top 10.
Wild card: Volkan Oezdemir
A former title challenger, Oezdemir is also a veteran of the division. He's a bigger name than Jacoby, so he might interest the UFC a little more. Oezdemir is quietly 3-1 in his past four appearances. Four years ago, he lost to Krylov, who Whittaker just beat on Saturday. This is an appropriate step for Whittaker, and Oezdemir is already ranked No. 8 by the UFC, attaching real stakes to this potential matchup.