Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira's Next Best Fights After UFC 326 Results

Charles Oliveira is the new "BMF" champion after scoring a dominant unanimous decision win over Max Holloway at UFC 326.

The win gives Do Bronx another belt to add to his collection. The BMF title might not be as prestigious as an actual divisional belt, but it carries a lot of weight in terms of creating a nice payday.

Oliveira should be able to parlay this win into an even bigger opportunity.

That could mean another crack at the lightweight title. It could mean a BMF title defense against another fan favorite.

Let's look at the options and what could be next on the docket for Holloway after the loss.

Oliveira's Next Best Fights

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Conor McGregor

Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje winner

Paddy Pimblett

Charles Oliveira now has the BMF belt around his waist. The next natural step is to want the lightweight championship to follow.

That is, unless there's a Conor McGregor-sized payday among the possibilities.

McGregor recently told media that he believes the UFC would like to set up a matchup between himself and the winner of the UFC 326 main event.

It would make a lot of sense. The BMF belt is made to reward fan favorites willing to take on unique matchups that don't involve a divisional belt. That would set Oliveira up with a winnable fight puts him in a massive spotlight.

Of course, the competitor in him might prefer a matchup with the lightweight champion. That would require some waiting, though. It was announced during UFC 326 that Ilia Topuria will meet Justin Gaethje in the main event of the White House card in June.

It would make a lot of sense for Oliveira to bide his time and hope that he gets the nod to take on the winner.

Then again, defending the BMF belt could be a more fun option. Paddy Pimblett is coming off a loss to Justin Gaethje and he's exciting enough to put in a BMF title fight.

Holloway's Next Best Fights

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Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor

Benoit Saint Denis

Mauricio Ruffy

Max Holloway is now in a tough spot. He just lost the BMF belt and lost his bid for the lightweight title in the fight before that.

The UFC isn't going to want him to lose three fights in a row. Yet, he's still a big draw that they'll want to keep in the spotlight.

A BMF title fight is likely the best-case scenario for a Conor McGregor return, but there's more history between McGregor and Holloway. There's also a higher chance that it is the kind of striking-heavy fight the UFC would want.

That could lead them to just have McGregor and Holloway run back their 2013 fight without including the BMF title.

If Holloway wants to stick with fighting legitimate contenders then a matchup with either Benoit Saint Denis or Mauricio Ruffy would make some sense. Saint Denis submitted Ruffy when they fought in September and is ranked higher.

Ruffy came back to beat Rafael Fiziev so he's regained some of his momentum, but Holloway would easily be the biggest name he's seen in the cage to this point.