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Fighters On The Rise | UFC 329: McGregor vs Holloway 2
Highlighting Three Ascending Names To Track This Weekend And Going Forward
UFC 329 features a stellar card laced with critical matchups and familiar names, all capped by the return of Conor McGregor in a highly anticipated rematch with Max Holloway that is sure to set T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas alight on Saturday evening.
But this weekend’s numbered event also boasts a handful of up-and-comers looking to use this opportunity on a marquee fight card to introduce themselves to a wider audience and take a step forward in their respective divisions.
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As is the custom on the Tuesday before an event, we’ve put together a closer look at three of those emerging names to familiarize yourselves with them before they hit the Octagon this weekend.
Dive in and enjoy this latest edition of Fighters on the Rise.
Gable Steveson
There was way too much hype heaped upon Aaron Pico’s shoulders when he first signed with Bellator in his early teens and again when he debuted with the promotion, and I believe it impeded his development and made those first few years more difficult than they needed to be for the now UFC featherweight.
Steveson is arguably the best prospect to come along since Pico — an Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA Division-I national champion who won the Dan Hodge Trophy twice, was a four-time All-American at the University of Minnesota, and is so athletically gifted that he had a brief run with the WWE and got a look from the Buffalo Bills despite never having played a lick of football in the past. This weekend, he makes his UFC debut opposite Elisha Ellison in a bout originally ticketed for the main card, but now shuffled back to the prelims.
The 26-year-old heavyweight is already 3-0 in MMA, but there is no way to put any real stock in those results as they came against a collection of weekend warriors in their late 30s who haven’t beaten a soul since facing Steveson. To be clear: that’s who he should have been facing, but the results are also as they should have been.
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The bar is set impossibly high for Steveson heading into his debut, to the point where it feels like if he doesn’t win the title before he turns 30 (May 31, 2030), he will have underachieved. That’s a brutal spot to be in because it’s ridiculously difficult to have lasting success at this level, and very few people genuinely achieve contender or champion status, and we don’t have any idea how he’ll handle getting punched in the face by a legitimate heavyweight.
He has immense upside and should get an expedited opportunity to shine if he passes this initial test and perhaps one more before the year is out. Steveson is about to be one of the most talked-about fighters on the roster, and now you have a chance to get on board the bandwagon armed with a little info before he steps into the Octagon for the first time on Saturday.
Luke Riley
Unbeaten in 13 professional appearances and 17 fights overall, including his brief amateur run, Riley is the latest ascending talent to emerge from Liverpool’s Next Gen MMA and land on the UFC stage. He’s earned wins in each of his first two UFC appearances — a second-round stoppage of Bogdan Grad in November, and a unanimous decision nod over Michael Aswell Jr. in March — and gets a slight step up with a veteran test this weekend against Kai Kamaka III at UFC 329.
Luke Riley Reflects On His Upbringing, MMA Journey Ahead Of UFC 329
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Luke Riley Reflects On His Upbringing, MMA Journey Ahead Of UFC 329
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Riley is one of those fighters for me where it’s still too early to get a real read on where he should slot into the featherweight ranks long term because we just haven’t seen him in there with the kind of opposition that answers some of those questions. I like that he rallied and stopped Grad early in the second round of his debut after dropping the opening stanza, and the win over “The Texas Kid” is solid in my books, even though Aswell Jr. is now 1-3 in the UFC, but at the same time, he has yet to have the kind of dominant showing that establishes him in a different tier of talent than most other skilled fighters that dominated in their previous promotion before touching down in the Octagon.
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Saturday’s fight against Kamaka will be a good measuring stick, as the 31-year-old Hawaiian has tons of experience, is a slick boxer with sound skills in every phase, and has proven durability, which means he should be able to push Riley more than we’ve seen him pushed thus far. If the Liverpool man can turn in a banner effort and sweep the cards against Kamaka, it’ll show he’s due for another move forward in the division and a more challenging test next time out.
Damian Pinas
Some fighters just have “the death touch” when it comes to their hands, and Pinas might be one of those guys.
The 24-year-old prospect from Suriname, who trains at Nova União and earned his place on the roster last season on Dana White’s Contender Series, has earned stoppages in each of his nine career victories, and his lone setback came as a result of his landing an illegal kick and being disqualified. He’s been out of the first round twice in those 10 bouts and showed in both his DWCS win and his debut victory over Wes Schultz that all he really needs to put guys down is a clean and simple one-two.
Damian Pinas Wins Via R1 TKO In UFC Debut | UFC Mexico
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Damian Pinas Wins Via R1 TKO In UFC Debut | UFC Mexico
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We talk all the time about how some fighters just land differently — that their power generates a different kind of reaction from opponents and is something you truly aren’t prepared for — and Pinas looks like one of those guys to me.
The first one-two he threw with any real intent put Schultz on the canvas in Mexico City, and the second one that landed ended the fight. He’s thick in the upper body and clearly generates big power, is surrounded by an outstanding team at Nova União, and has tons of time to continue growing and developing, having just turned 24 in May.
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This weekend, he takes a step forward by facing off with Cesar Almeida, a fellow DWCS alum with established power, a quality team around him, and three UFC wins already under his belt. He’s the type of savvy, veteran striker that could sting Pinas if he’s not defensively responsible or gets too aggressive in his approach, so it’ll be informative to see how this one plays out.
Middleweight is flush with talent at the moment, which means Pinas should get plenty of time to hone his skills and work on his craft before getting thrown into the deep end of the talent pool, but if he keeps sparking guys the way he has thus far, his results might force the issue.
UFC 329: McGregor vs Holloway 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 11, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!