Charles Oliveira's performance at UFC 326 neutralized Max Holloway's strengths; understand why.

Charles of the Bronx leads Max Holloway to the ground UFC 326. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram.

Beyond what could be seen during the 25 minutes of the duel between Charles of the Bronx e Max HollowayThe numbers also help tell the story of the main fight. UFC 326, which crowned the Blurred Lion as the new BMF champion and put him back on the list of possible challengers for the lightweight belt (up to 70,3 kg). With a clear improvement in his takedown techniques, the Brazilian completely neutralized the Hawaiian and destroyed one of the Blessed One's main weapons: the volume of strikes.

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Throughout the five rounds, Holloway landed only 26 significant strikes on the Brazilian, his lowest number in over a decade. Coincidentally, the last time the fighter landed fewer than 50 strong strikes on an opponent was in their first encounter in August 2015, when both were still competing in the featherweight division (up to 65,7 kg).

Max Holloway landed 21 significant strikes though the first four rounds of this fight.

The last time he landed less than 50 significant strikes in a fight was in 2015 against, you guessed it, Charles Oliveira.

- Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) March 8, 2026

On that occasion, the fight ended with the American winning by technical knockout in less than two minutes, after Charles of the Bronx Suffering a bizarre neck injury and being forced to leave the fight because he couldn't move. Besides completely nullifying his opponent's game, the greatest finisher in UFC history also controlled him for over 20 minutes with his high level of grappling.

Max Holloway holds numerous records in the UFC.

Holloway focused before fighting in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/X/UFC

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Charles' feat is even more remarkable when considering Holloway's history in the UFC. The Hawaiian holds the absolute record for significant strikes landed in UFC history, with over 3.650 throughout his career, more than a thousand more strikes than the second-placed fighter. The former champion also holds records related to fight volume and stamina. Furthermore, he recorded the highest number of significant strikes in a single fight, landing 290 strikes against [opponent's name]. Brian ortega, in addition to setting the record for the most strikes landed in a single round, with 134.