Fight fans were cautious when the fight card for UFC 300 was announced, as it seemed too good to be true. A stacked card stayed intact heading into fight night, which relieved many. As the night progressed, relief turned to stress, and stress eventually turned to pure elation. It was a night MMA fans will never forget.
The event ended with three major title fights that delivered, and then some.
In the main event, Alex Pereira defended the UFC light heavyweight title against former champion Jamahal Hill. It only took one round to end the fight, as Pereira used his power to drop Hill. In an unbelievable series of events, Hill landed a shot below the belt, Pereira waved off referee Herb Dean, and he landed an uppercut that put Hill to the floor. “Poatan” then hit ground and pound shots until Dean saw enough.
Pereira then discussed the idea of moving to heavyweight, potentially against interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. His ideal fight date would be UFC 301 in Brazil, in just a few weeks.
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"I'm injury free. I want to fight in Brazil. I know it's a short time, but let's see what happens... I know there needs to be promotion for a title fight, so I don't care, let me do a fight at heavyweight," Pereira said.
In the co-main event, Zhang Weili beat Yan Xiaonan to retain the UFC strawweight title. It started with a weird first, as Yan was out cold following a choke in round one. However, the referee didn’t call it and the fight continued. Yan did give it her all after. They went back and forth, but Zhang was too much.
Zhang has now won four straight and has two successful defenses in her second reign as champion. Yan’s loss ended a two-fight win streak.
Max Holloway landed the Knockout of the Year against Justin Gaethje for the BMF Title. The former UFC featherweight champion used his boxing ability to out-hit Gaethje. “Blessed” was ahead on the scorecards but still wanted to prove something. In the fifth, he requested Gaethje join him in the middle of the octagon. The two traded blows until Holloway landed a shot that dropped Gaethje down with just a second left in the fight.
Holloway called out current UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria to a fight after. How can he be denied a shot following that performance?
We have a new lightweight title contender in Arman Tsarukyan following a war against Charles Oliveira in an eliminator fight that could have been five rounds. Tsarukyan forced Oliveira to bleed and secured a solid ground game against the former champion. The Armenian is expected to fight champion Islam Makhachev next.
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Opening the main card, wrestler Bo Nickal proved why he should be on the main card. The Penn State alum beat Cody Brundage via submission. Going past the first round, Nickal was challenged by another wrestler, who trolled Nickal at points. Nickal was disappointed in his performance, but it was a step in the right direction.
The rest of the card was stacked from start to finish.
Jiri Prochazka survived an attack to his leg to dismantle Aleksandar Rakic, while Aljamain Sterling proved to be a threat at featherweight against Calvin Kattar. In her UFC debut, Kayla Harrison dominated against former champion Holly Holm. The former PFL champion used her wrestling and elbows to win. Harrison is ready to fight for the 135 title.
The Sporting News provided results from the entire UFC 300 fight card. Stay tuned!
UFC 300 full card results
Main Card
- Alex Pereira (c) def. Jamahal Hill via KO for the UFC light heavyweight title (3:14 into round one)
- Zhang Weili (c) def. Yan Xiaonan via unanimous decision for the UFC strawweight title (49-45, 49-45, 49-45)
- Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje (c) via KO for the BMF title (4:59 into round five)
- Arman Tsarukyan def. Charles Oliveira via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Bo Nickal def. Cody Brundage via rear-naked choke (3:38 into round two)
Prelims
- Jiri Prochazka def. Aleksandar Rakic via TKO (3:17 into round two)
- Aljamain Sterling def. Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Kayla Harrison def. Holly Holm via rear-naked choke (1:47 into round two)
- Diego Lopes def. Sodiq Yusuff via TKO (1:29 into round one)
Early Prelims
- Renato Moicano def. Jalin Turner via TKO (4:11 into round two)
- Jessica Andrade def. Marina Rodriguez via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Bobby Green def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 29-26)
- Deiveson Figueiredo def. Cody Garbrandt via rear-naked choke (4:02 into round two)