Brendan Miller
After an unforgettable night on possibly the deepest card in the promotion’s 31-year history, there was no shortage of topics to discuss after UFC 300, on Saturday, in Las Vegas.
In just his eighth fight in the UFC, Alex Pereira recorded his second division title defense as champion by submitting former champion Jamahal Hill in the first round of the main fight. In the co-feature, Weili Zhang outlasted a determined Yan Xiaonan in their All-Chinese clash for the women’s strawweight title.
None of the names above, it could be argued, had a better night than former featherweight champion Max Holloway, however, as he knocked out Justin Gaethje with one second remaining in the fifth round of the ceremonial BMF title fight.
Let’s take a closer look at what we learned from a memorable night of action inside T-Mobile Arena.
1. There is no reason why Alex Pereira cannot receive everything he asks for from the UFC
Less than three years into his UFC career, after a long career in kickboxing, which featured titles in two weight categories under the Glória banner, the Brazilian continues to conquer unknown territory. Pereira finished Hill with the first significant punch he landed with a vicious counter left hook in the first round, becoming just the fourth UFC fighter to defend titles in two divisions. And even crazier than this being just Pereira’s eighth fight in the UFC (and 12th overall in MMA) is the fact that he scored his fifth consecutive victory over a current or former UFC champion, a feat that has only been matched by Jon Jones and Amanda Nunes, collectively known as the GOATs of men’s and women’s MMA, respectively.
Pereira petitioned the UFC after the knockout to not only quickly return to UFC 301 in May in his native Brazil (on a card that could make poor use of his star infusion), but also called for a debut fight in heavyweight in a third division. This could take “Poatan” one step closer to becoming the first UFC fighter to attempt to become a three-division champion, and if you’re UFC CEO Dana White, why wouldn’t you give Pereira every chance to do it? Legends like this don’t come around that often. And even at 36, there’s no limit in sight to how great Pereira can truly be.
2. Max Holloway proved why he deserved to be the main event
Fourteen years into a long and decorated MMA career, few would have imagined a moment of triumph as sweet as the one Holloway provided as an underdog against Gaethje, after returning to lightweight for the BMF title fight. But Gaethje never fully recovered from having his nose broken by a motivated Holloway to close out the first round. A win alone for Holloway would have been enough to celebrate his constant ability to reinvent himself, especially in this fight as so many fans and media members predicted. Gaethje would do more damage than the 32-year-old Holloway could handle. But not only did Gaethje refuse to go away as he prepared to drop Holloway in the fourth round for the first knockdown of his career, he also set the stage for what many instantly hailed as the greatest knockout in UFC history. In the final seconds of the fifth round, Holloway pointed to the canvas inviting Gaethje to get up and exchange, which he called back to UFC 199 when Holloway did the same to Ricardo Lamas. Just this once, Holloway currently delivered knocking the ever-durable Gaethje flat on his face as time expired. Holloway has seized the moment to defend his old 145-pound title now that rising star Ilia Topuria has toppled Alexander Volkanovski, who owns a trio of title wins over Holloway. But regardless of whether he succeeds, Holloway achieved what UFC CEO Dana White called “a career-defining moment” tonight, elevating his legend as a fan favorite to a whole new level.
3. Arman Tsarukyan is ready for everyone at 155 pounds
Although he won’t get the next shot at lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, which White announced on Saturday defend his title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in June, Tsarukyan was supposed to do nothing but wait in the bullpen for the chance to face the winner. Tsarukyan, who had long coveted a rematch with Makhachev after losing to the pound-for-pound king in his UFC debut in 2019, recorded the biggest win of his career on Saturday in defeating former champion Charles Oliveira by split decision. Tsarukyan’s wrestling and patient striking ended up being the difference in this hard-fought battle that saw Tsarukyan twice survive deep choke attempts from the sport’s most decorated finisher, including a D’Arce choke in the final seconds. Losing a title shot to a star like Poirier is understandable, especially considering he just scored his own victory over top prospect Benoit Saint Denis. But Tsarukyan’s emergence as of late, which includes a first-round knockout of Beneil Dariush in December, has been so great that his 9-1 record since the loss to Makhachev should be enough that he doesn’t need to do anything other than perform. prepare for a title fight. to close 2024.
4. Kayla Harrison could be the reason Amanda Nunes came back
Harrison, Nunes’ former teammate on American Top Team until a feud led Nunes to open her own gym, passed her profile test UFC debut against Holly Holm with flying colors. Not only did the former two-time PFL champion achieve the impossible by effectively cutting down to 135 pounds for the first time, she also floored Holm on her way to a second-round submission victory. The result was that the retired Nunes posted a reaction video on social media that appeared to see the former two-division champion hoping that Harrison had called her out after the fight. The good news for UFC fans is that Harrison’s victory was so dominant, mixed with how shallow the depth of the division already is, that a fight between her and new champion Raquel Pennington wouldn’t be out of place next, even with former champion Julianna Pena still in the mix. But if Harrison wins the women’s bantamweight title sooner rather than later, a showdown against the returning Nunes could be one of the biggest fights in women’s MMA history and a bold fight after Nunes accused ATT coaches of favoring Harrison during her time at the same gym.
5. UFC 300 was the perfect reminder of why we love this incredible sport
Given the 24/7 nature of the modern professional sports news cycle, it can be easy for fans and journalists to spend too much time stuck in the weeds of negativity. Whether debating recent UFC headlines like fighter pay, watered-down matchmaking, or too many cards at the UFC Apex, there’s seemingly never a shortage of imperfections worth dwelling on in the bigger picture of MMA as a whole, especially within the UFC. But all this historic and incredibly deep UFC 300 card did on this special night was remind us why we fell in love with the sport in the first place. Holloway’s knockout would have been enough, honestly, to sustain that sentiment on its own. But that doesn’t take into account Pereira’s dominance, Bo Nickal’s continued evolution or the incredible heart shown by Zhang and Yan in the co-main event for the women’s strawweight title.
Tonight was a celebration of what makes this sport so unpredictable and inspiring in nature. And on a card already packed with stories to ponder and debate in the coming weeks, including a series of big fight announcements made by White during the post-fight press conference (including Conor McGregor-Michael Chandler to headline International Fight Week in June), it was the crowd noise and series of exciting results that resonated most. From groundbreaking submissions from Diego Lopes, Renato Moicano and Jiri Prochazka to a strong featherweight debut from former bantamweight king Aljamain Sterling, UFC 300 had it all and more tonight. And it won’t be forgotten among similar nights like UFC 100, 196, 205, 217 and 249 as one of the biggest nights in the company’s history.
