Massive UFC Rematch More Than 7 Years in the Making Reportedly Booked for UFC 329

A rematch more than seven years in the making has reportedly been set as the first major addition to UFC 329.

Scheduled to take place a T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV, UFC 329 will feature as the main attraction of this year’s International Fight Week, which will take place from July 9th through 12th and also features the 2026 UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

There’s already been considerable speculation that UFC 329 could be headlined by the return of Conor McGregor, and according to @MagicM_MMABets the card will feature a huge bantamweight rematch between top contenders Cory Sandhagen and Mario Bautista.

Cory Sandhagen Gets First Fight After UFC Title Opportunity

Currently sitting at #4 in the official UFC bantamweight rankings, Sandhagen finally got a long-awaited shot at undisputed gold in his last fight at UFC 320 but dropped a decision to Merab Dvalishvili.

Merab Dvalishvili (red gloves) reacts after the fight against Cory Sandhagen (blue gloves) during UFC 320 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The 34-year-old previously fought for the division’s interim belt at UFC 267 against Petr Yan, who bested Dvalishvili in their rematch at UFC 323 to kick off his second reign as undisputed UFC bantamweight champion. Sandhagen rebounded from his loss to Yan with three-straight wins before falling to Umar Nurmagomedov in a matchup that earned Nurmagomedov his own crack at the bantamweight belt.

Cory Sandhagen (red gloves) fights with Deiveson Figueiredo (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Wells Fargo Arena. | Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A member of the UFC roster since 2018, Sandhagen previously submitted Bautista in the opening round as part of the five-fight win streak that kicked off his UFC career.

Mario Bautista Looks To Avenge First Loss From UFC Debut

The loss to Sandhagen in his UFC debut marked the first (and so far only) time that Bautista has been submitted, and he rebounded from the first setback of his professional MMA career with back-to-back victories before Trevin Jones stopped him with strikes at UFC 259.

Mario Bautista (red gloves) fights Patchy Mix (blue gloves) during UFC 316 at Prudential Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Unfazed by a 2-2 start to his UFC career after joining the promotion with a 6-0 record, Bautista put together an impressive eight-fight win streak that was halted by the aforementioned Nurmagomedov at UFC 321. The 32-year-old rebounded in his most recent outing and handed Vinicius Oliveira his first UFC loss when he submitted the Brazilian in a UFC Fight Night main event in February.

Jose Aldo (red gloves) fights Mario Bautista (blue gloves) during UFC 307 at Delta Center. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Bautista will undoubtedly be eager to prove that he’s a much different fighter now than the one that made his UFC debut against Sandhagen in 2019, and their UFC 329 rematch could decide who fights for the UFC bantamweight title after Yan and Dvalishvili meet in an expected trilogy bout later this year.

UFC 329 Fight Card

Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista 2

Damian Pinas vs. Cesar Almeida

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