International Fight Week rolls into T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, July 11, and UFC 329 is stacked with more than just a nostalgic headliner. Conor McGregor and Max Holloway run it back more than a decade after their first meeting, but the undercard is doing some heavy lifting of its own, with a lightweight banger, a pair of finishers in the flyweight and bantamweight divisions, and a light heavyweight clash that would headline plenty of other cards. Not every fight on this card is created equal when it comes to pure watchability, though, so we ranked all nine main and prelim bouts from must-see to save-it-for-the-replay, with betting angles baked in for the fights worth putting money behind.
How We’re Ranking This Card
This isn’t a card of favorites versus records — it’s a ranking built around finishing potential, stylistic friction, star power, and what’s actually on the line for each fighter. A close decision between two grinders doesn’t move the needle the way a live finishing threat does, and stakes matter just as much as skill. With that in mind, here’s how the nine confirmed UFC 329 bouts stack up on the entertainment scale.
The Full Entertainment Ranking
Grab a plate and settle in — from can’t-miss to bathroom-break territory, here’s the order we’d watch UFC 329 in if we could only pick one fight at a time.
- Benoit Saint Denis vs. Paddy Pimblett — the co-main with a lightweight title shot practically attached to the winner.
- Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 — the spectacle, the storyline, the sold-out arena.
- Robert Whittaker vs. Nikita Krylov — two former title challengers with real knockout power.
- Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista — a technical bantamweight kickboxing clinic waiting to happen.
- Cody Garbrandt vs. Adrian Yanez — two guys who have never met a firefight they didn’t like.
- Brandon Royval vs. Lone’er Kavanagh — a live underdog with a puncher’s chance against a rising prospect.
- King Green vs. Terrance McKinney — a lightweight opener with legit violence potential.
- Gable Steveson vs. Elisha Ellison — the showcase fight for the Olympic wrestler.
- Luke Riley vs. Kai Kamaka III — solid prelim action, but lowest name value on the card.
Why the Co-Main Might Steal the Show
Benoit Saint Denis walks into T-Mobile Arena on a finish streak and a reputation for suffocating pressure, while Paddy Pimblett is looking to bounce back after his first loss inside the Octagon. This is the fight with real championship weight attached — the winner is squarely in the conversation for a 155-pound title opportunity, which raises the stakes on every exchange. Saint Denis wants to drag this into deep water and grind, while Pimblett has made clear he wants to make the Frenchman think twice about shooting for takedowns by cracking him on the feet first. Books have Saint Denis favored, and that lines up with his recent form and finishing habits, but Pimblett’s counter-striking and submission awareness make this anything but a formality. If you’re looking for a betting angle here, siding with the favorite to get it done inside the distance carries real value given how rarely either man goes to the scorecards.
The Legend Returns — With a Real Betting Wrinkle
McGregor and Holloway first fought back in 2013, a night that ended in a first-round knockout for the Irishman. Well over a decade, multiple weight classes, and countless headlines later, they run it back in a fight nobody expected to happen. Holloway is the betting favorite, and it’s easy to see why — he’s been consistently active while McGregor has fought sparingly in recent years. That gap in recent output is exactly why the number matters here: this isn’t a pick-em fight from a form standpoint, but McGregor’s raw power and the moment itself make him live in every second the fight is standing. For bettors, that means the smart play might not be the moneyline at all — prop markets tied to where and how this fight ends could offer more value than betting straight up on either man’s hand getting raised. Whatever happens, T-Mobile Arena is going to sound like it’s hosting a heavyweight title fight.
Hidden Gems Worth Setting an Alarm For
Don’t sleep on Robert Whittaker taking on Nikita Krylov — both former title challengers, both with legitimate one-punch power, and both durable enough that this has real finish equity written all over it. A step down but still worth catching live: Cory Sandhagen and Mario Bautista bring two of the more technical strikers in the bantamweight division together, the kind of fight decided by volume and precision rather than a single mistake. And if you just want chaos, Cody Garbrandt and Adrian Yanez have both built careers on trading leather rather than out-pointing anybody — a firefight is close to guaranteed. For those building a card-long parlay rather than isolating single bets, pairing a couple of these finish-heavy underdogs together through same game parlays can be a smarter way to attack a card this deep with live finishing threats.
The Rest of the Card
Brandon Royval against Lone’er Kavanagh pits a fighter who has been in more wild scrambles than almost anyone at flyweight against an unbeaten prospect being fast-tracked up the rankings — Royval’s durability alone makes this must-watch even with the line leaning heavily toward Kavanagh. King Green and Terrance McKinney will open the main card with two guys who have zero interest in a boring fight, which is really all you can ask from an opener. Gable Steveson’s continued development against Elisha Ellison is worth watching purely for the freak athleticism, even if the number attached to it makes it more of a showcase than a competitive betting affair. And Luke Riley versus Kai Kamaka III rounds out the card as solid, professional action — just don’t expect it to steal headlines from everything above it.
Putting It All Together for Fight Night
UFC 329 has real layers to it — a main event built on nostalgia and star power, a co-main that could shape the lightweight title picture, and a handful of stylistic clashes in the middle of the card that deserve just as much attention as the names at the top of the poster. If you’re setting up your watch party or lining up bets across the UFC odds board, treat this as a card where the entertainment value and the betting value overlap more than usual. New to shopping lines before a big card? It’s worth understanding how odds work before locking anything in, and checking a DraftKings promo code or a FanDuel promo code before first bell never hurts either. However the rankings shake out on the actual night, this is a card built to be watched top to bottom — pull up a seat, order in, and enjoy International Fight Week the right way.
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