As the great Bruce Buffer would say: “It’s time!” The octagon will be featured on pay-per-view for the 300th time this Saturday as UFC 300 emanates from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While the term “stacked card” is thrown around quite a bit, this card really does take things to a new level.
The card’s 13 fights will feature 12 current or former UFC champions, 20 currently ranked fighters and two championship bouts. A dominant champion will put her title on the line against a challenger who scored a huge knockout victory to reach this opportunity. A former champion, who never lost his belt, will look to reclaim the crown he thinks rightfully belongs to him against a new champion who will try to prove the belt is right where it belongs.
Lightweight bout: Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway
One of the most popular fighters on the roster, former Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje is looking to keep his momentum rolling after winning two in a row. Sporting a 25-4 record, with 20 knockouts, Gaethje has put on some incredible fights over the course of his career. His 2021 tilt against Michael Chandler is one of the most wildly entertaining fights to ever grace the octagon. However, the 35 year old has made it clear he won’t remain in the game forever. If he wants to make one more push for the lightweight crown, he likely can’t afford any more stumbles. A win here could make things very interesting though.
Undoubtedly one of the greatest featherweights of all time, former champion Max Holloway finds himself in a new weight class, with a new challenge. Holloway boasts a 25-7 record with 11 knockouts, but the group of men who have defeated him is smaller than you would think. Six of his seven career losses have come again Alexander Volkanovski (3), Dustin Poirier (2) and Conor McGregor (1). It’s no coincidence that this is also a list of all-time greats because it clearly takes a special fighter to defeat Max Holloway. A prolific volume striker with an underrated ground game, Holloway presents a very difficult puzzle for any opponent. Of course, in a fight against Gaethje, this is likely going to be a very entertaining scrap that sees a whole lot of punches landed.
My Pick: Gaethje via 3rd round knockout
Women’s Strawweight Championship bout: Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan
Sometimes a resume simply don’t reflect how dominant a fighter has been. Women’s Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili has looked as good as anyone in the octagon over the past four years. Unfortunately for her, Rose Namajunas had her number and ended her brief first tile reign back in 2021. Since dropping two fights to Namajunas though, Weili has won three in a row, recapturing her title and successfully defending it once, in a dominant performance against Amanda Lemos last August. With a 24-3 record, 11 knockouts and eight submissions, Weili is an overwhelming grappler who can seemingly bring the fight wherever she wants it. She’s also a skilled striker, who can pick her opponents apart on the feet. And if all of that fails, she has dynamite in her hands and can always end a fight in a blink. It’s going to be tough to get that belt away from her a second time.
And yet, that is the challenge laid in front of Yan Xiaonan. The challenger comes into this bout with an 18-3 record and eight knockouts, most notably scoring one against former champion Jessica Andrade in her most recent bout. Xiaonan may be the only fighter in this class who can match the power of Weili, as she recently displayed. And coming off of back-to-back wins against some of the best in the class, her confidence is going to be at a new high coming into this title fight. Gameplans will be interesting but if this is a standup fight, we could be in for a classic.
My Pick: Weili via 4th round knockout
Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill
The UFC’s light heavyweight division has been nothing short of chaotic in recent years. The last four years have seen five different champions, two of which never truly lost the belt. Now, the throne belongs to a former middleweight champ who has fought only twice in this division. One things for sure though, we will know the true light heavyweight champ after this main event.
Alex Pereira burst onto the UFC scene in 2021 after a legendary kickboxing career. After just three fights in the octagon, he knocked out his old rival Israel Adesanya to claim the middleweight championship. He then dropped the title, back to Adesanya who settled the score. After suffering his first UFC loss, he decided to take his talents to light heavyweight, where he won a decision against former champ Jan Blachowicz and knocked out another former champ, Jiri Prochazka to capture the crown. Now sitting at 9-2 with seven knockouts, Pereira has put together a very impressive resume and is known as one of the most feared strikers in the sport. His gameplan will likely be the same as always: look for the knockout.
Jamahal Hill hasn’t fought since January of last year, when he defeated Glover Teixeira to capture the light heavyweight title. A devastating achilles injury has kept him out of action ever since. Having never actually lost the championship, Hill will be looking to reclaim the top spot he feels truly belongs to him. With a 12-1 record and seven knockouts, he can certainly end a fight in the striking game. However, he figures to have the grappling advantage against a prolific striker in this matchup. It will be interesting to see if he is willing to trade punches with Pereira and whether or not his time away from the octagon will affect him.
My Pick: Hill via 4th round knockout
UFC 300 will be held Saturday, April 13 at 10 PM ET. ESPN+ subscribers can order the pay per view for $79.99.