Hard-hitting KO artists to rematch at UFC 326 after ex-title challenger's withdrawal

Gregory Rodrigues will reportedly get the chance to avenge a devastating loss when he steps up to meet his countryman Brunno Ferreira at UFC 326.

The UFC is set to open its new Paramount deal later this month with a one-two punch in the form of UFCs 324 and 325, and March will see Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira finally meet in a highly-anticipated rematch as the main event for UFC 326.

The card was also supposed to feature a major middleweight matchup between Paulo Costa and Ferreira before Costa withdrew from the event, and now Laerte Viana reports that Ferreira’s former foe Rodrigues is stepping in to fight on March 7.

Gregory Rodrigues Could Avenge Upset-Loss In Las Vegas

Currently sitting at #14 in the UFC middleweight rankings, Rodrigues joined the UFC in 2021 after winning the LFA middleweight title via first-round stoppage.

The Brazilian went 4-1 over his first five UFC outings and secured three of those victories via knockout before being matched with Brad Tavares at UFC 283. Following Tavares’ withdrawal from the card, Ferreira debuted on short-notice against Rodrigues and knocked his countryman out late in the opening round.

Gregory Rodrigues (red gloves) fights Brunno Ferreira (blue gloves) during UFC 283 at Jeunesse Arena. | Jason da Silva-Imagn Images

“Robocop” won three-straight fights after meeting Ferreira before coming up short against former title challenger Jared Cannonier, but the 33-year-old closed out 2025 with back-to-back wins over Jack Hermansson and Roman Kopylov.

Brunno Ferreira Could Break Into Rankings At UFC 326

Rodrigues is ranked one spot lower than former title challenger Costa, but the new UFC 326 matchup will still give Ferreira the opportunity to extend his current win streak and break into the middleweight Top 15.

The upset-win over Rodrigues in his promotional debut extended Ferreira’s record to 10-0 before he was knocked out by Nursulton Ruziboev in his sophomore UFC outing. Another pair of first-round knockouts preceded a submission-loss to Abus Magomedov, but “Hulk” rebounded with a pair of submissions over Armen Pestrosyan and Jackson McVey before he went the distance for the first time against Marvin Vettori to secure his third win in a row.

Marvin Vettori (red gloves) fights Brunno Ferreira (blue gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Fans will be expecting the rematch between Ferreira and Rodrigues to produce fireworks when the two men enter the cage on March 7, and there’s still two months remaining for the UFC to fill out the rest of UFC 326.

UFC 326 Fight Card

• Main Event: Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira – For the UFC “BMF” Championship

• Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega

• Caio Borralho vs. Reinier de Ridder

• Cody Durden vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel

• Cody Garbrandt vs. Long Xiao

• Rafael Tobias vs. Diyar Nurgozhay

• Sumudaerji vs. Jesus Aguilar

• Dusko Todorovic vs. Donte Johnson

• Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brunno Ferreira

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