UFC 329 Predictions: Picks for the Entire McGregor vs Holloway 2 Main Card

UFC 329 lands at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 11, with the main card kicking off around 9pm ET on pay-per-view. The headliner is a rematch more than a decade in the making, Conor McGregor against Max Holloway, and it anchors a stacked five-fight main card loaded with betting interest from top to bottom. Here is a pick for every fight on the main card, with the reasoning behind each one.

Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway 2

Holloway enters as the betting favorite in the -218 to -230 range, with McGregor sitting as the underdog somewhere around +180 to +195. That price gap makes sense on paper. McGregor is coming off a layover of more than five years away from competition, and ring rust at this level of the sport is not something you can simply will away with a big personality and a highlight reel from a decade ago. Holloway, meanwhile, has stayed active and dangerous, and his volume striking and cardio have aged remarkably well against elite competition.

The value question here is whether the market is overreacting to the layoff or correctly pricing it. History suggests that fighters who take extended breaks, especially past their mid-30s, rarely look sharp in their first fight back, and McGregor has never been a high-volume, high-output striker even in his prime. Holloway’s pace should be a major problem across five rounds if the fight gets there. Take Holloway on the moneyline, and lean toward the fight going the distance given Holloway’s chin and durability against fellow strikers.

Pick: Max Holloway by decision.

Benoit Saint Denis vs Paddy Pimblett

This lightweight matchup sits closer to a coin flip than the odds suggest, with Saint Denis favored at roughly -150 and Pimblett priced as the underdog near +130. Saint Denis brings heavy hands and a physical, forward-pressing style that has given him some of the more finish-heavy performances in the division recently. Pimblett is a savvy grappler with underrated composure who has found ways to win rounds even when he is not dictating the pace early.

The key here is pace and location. If Saint Denis can keep this standing and moving forward behind his jab and left hand, he has a real path to a finish, and his recent form suggests he is more comfortable pushing that pace than Pimblett is used to seeing. Pimblett’s counters and back-take opportunities are dangerous, but they require him to survive the first exchanges. Lean toward the favorite here given the stylistic matchup, but expect this one to be competitive.

Pick: Benoit Saint Denis by decision or late finish.

Cory Sandhagen vs Mario Bautista

Sandhagen is favored at around -145 against Bautista’s +125, and this is one of the more technically interesting fights on the card. Sandhagen’s length, footwork, and varied kicking game have made him one of the more awkward stylistic puzzles in the bantamweight division for years. Bautista counters that with a strong wrestling base and a willingness to grind out rounds on top when the striking exchanges are not going his way.

If Sandhagen can keep this fight at range and use his reach advantage to control distance, this becomes a difficult night for Bautista, who will need to close distance repeatedly and find takedowns against a defense that has improved significantly over the years. Expect a chess match early that opens up in the championship rounds as pace and cardio become bigger factors.

Pick: Cory Sandhagen by decision.

Brandon Royval vs Lone’er Kavanagh

Kavanagh comes in as a sizable favorite in the -218 to -225 range, with Royval priced as the underdog near +187 to +190. Kavanagh is coming off arguably the best win of his career, a dominant five-round performance against a former champion, and he has looked composed against much more experienced competition than his own resume would suggest he is ready for. Royval, a former title challenger himself, brings creativity and finishing instincts that make him dangerous even when he is behind on the feet or in exchanges.

This line reflects real momentum for Kavanagh, and it is hard to argue with the market given how he handled his last opponent. Royval’s best path is to make this scrambly and chaotic rather than allowing Kavanagh to set a clean pace, since Royval has shown he can turn a losing position into a finish with very little warning. Still, the favorite has earned the respect the odds are giving him.

Pick: Lone’er Kavanagh by decision.

King Green vs Terrance McKinney

McKinney is favored at roughly -155 to -160 against Green’s +135 to +140, and this fight has finish written all over it given both men’s styles. McKinney has some of the fastest hands and most explosive finishing ability in the lightweight division, capable of ending fights in the opening minute when his timing is on. Green is a veteran counter-striker who has survived plenty of dangerous opponents by using distance, angles, and a granite chin to slow down aggressive strikers.

The question is whether Green’s experience is enough to get him through the early storm. If he survives the first few minutes, his craft and durability tend to take over as the fight wears on, and he has a long track record of frustrating faster, harder-hitting opponents. But McKinney’s power is legitimate, and this line reflects a real chance the fight never gets out of the first round.

Pick: Terrance McKinney by first-round finish.

Putting It All Together

Five fights, five different flavors of intrigue, and a main event that could go either way depending on how much Father Time has taken from McGregor during his time away. For bettors looking to shop lines before the card, checking current UFC odds across multiple books is worth the extra few minutes, since even small differences in price can matter on a card this deep. If you are new to reading lines, our breakdown of how odds work is a good primer before placing anything.

For those looking to combine a few of these picks into one ticket, our guide to same game parlays walks through how to structure multi-leg bets without torching your bankroll on correlated risk. And if you still need an account to get down on fight night, both the DraftKings promo code and the FanDuel promo code pages have the latest sign-up offers ahead of Saturday’s card.

Whatever you decide to back, UFC 329 has the makings of one of the more unpredictable pay-per-view cards of the year, with McGregor’s return alone guaranteeing a buy-rate spike and a genuinely uncertain outcome at the top of the bill.