Alex Pereira made the first defence of his light-heavyweight title, avenging teammate and close friend Glover Teixeira’s punishing five-round defeat vs. former titlist Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 headliner to cap an unforgettable night’s action from Las Vegas after contrasting championship victories for strawweight queen Zhang Weili and new BMF titleholder Max Holloway.
Aspinall next? Pereira hints at heavyweight move
- Plotting the future? Pereira’s post-fight interview: “I was just gauging distance and timing, it went perfectly. I don’t let the belt go to my head, have to win it every time… I want to defend it, then go to heavyweight.”
- Hill, who became champion after a five-round battle with Pereira’s friend Glover Teixeira in January 2023, was marking his Octagon return after sustaining a serious Achilles injury playing pickup basketball last summer
- Too soon: Pereira maintained a desire to return for the UFC 301 card in Rio next month, though murmurs of a niggling left foot injury suggest his return will be delayed until late summer or early autumn at the earliest
R1, 3:14 — Alex Pereira (c) bt. Jamahal Hill via KO (punches) to retain light-heavyweight title with first defence, five months after Prochazka win
ALEX Pereira instinctively swatted referee Herb Dean away from pausing the action after absorbing a low kick to the groin and within 20 seconds, roles had reversed.
Dean was pushing Pereira away from the scene of his latest masterpiece, the champion gesturing over a crumpled Jamahal Hill as if to say are you happy now?
The first punch he landed clean, that patented left hook, caught Hill cold and you saw the former titlist’s eyes rolling into the back of his head. Follow-up punches rained down and within moments, UFC 300 ended with a fitting finale given the stacked card hadn’t just lived up to the billing, but certainly exceeded expectations here.
Hill knew he couldn’t afford to let the champion establish an early rhythm, nor walk him down, the same way long-time rival Israel Adesanya experienced both in the Octagon and back during their kickboxing days. He landed a series of low kicks and kept the fight largely at short-range, while Pereira bided his time waiting to pounce.
The thrill and sense of inevitability behind Pereira’s hellacious power was again devastating to see unfold, but after the contrasting championship bouts preceding this, perhaps Hill would’ve been wise to take a warm-up fight and shake off the injury rust all along. He was brutally humbled, like many predicted would happen.
It’s part of why many were underwhelmed when Pereira-Hill was announced as the main event, having convinced themselves something more flashy was waiting under the sleeves of president Dana White and co. Pereira has the promotion in the palm of his hand, not even three full years since his debut, and that’s scary to consider.
White’s big reveal was saved for the post-fight presser, a rare but fitting setting given the occasion, announcing Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier and Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa at UFC 302 before Conor McGregor’s comeback clash with Michael Chandler headlines UFC 303 at welterweight on June 29. The machine chugs on.
As it does for Poatan, with critics scratching their heads wondering what really is next for a two-division champion that hasn’t just thrived as an active must-see fighter in the final years of his prime, but transcending audiences worldwide without speaking conversational English. Easier said than done, he’s now enjoying himself too.
Weili gets it done, but definitely wasn’t easy
Zhang Weili bt. Yan Xiaonan via UD5, makes second strawweight title defence
Yan Xiaonan survived a series of deep submission attempts, including one choke briefly rendering her limp at the horn after round one, before improving as time wore on in her maiden title fight against Zhang Weili during an all-Chinese clash.
She dropped the champion early in rounds three and four, executing the corner’s gameplan well with slick counterpunches and making Weili pay for expending energy aplenty during the first ten minutes where the contest easily could’ve been stopped a few times. Thankfully, it wasn’t and we saw a real battle of wills.
Xiaonan’s success was such that Weili shot a look at the timer before the midway stage of their penultimate round, gladly earning a reprieve with ground control time aplenty, outgrappling her compatriot while landing strikes from top position.
You could sense that would have a big bearing on how the three judges cageside were going to score competitive rounds, referee Jason Herzog issuing a stern warning (through a translator) before the final stanza for repeated fence grabs.
Weili secured her fifth takedown early in the round, and although she didn’t hold it long, Xionan’s grappling deficiency was laid bare as Weili stifled her threat the rest of the way on the ground en route to a hard-fought UD5 victory (49-45, 49-45, 49-45).
Holloway caps showing, icing Gaethje with last-second KO
R5, 4:59 — Max Holloway bt. Justin Gaethje via KO, wins symbolic BMF title
- Holloway acknowledges the risk on #1 lightweight contender Gaethje’s end in taking this matchup during post-fight interview: “He had so much to lose, give it up for him… he gave me this fight for you guys.”
- Longtime contender and former interim champion Poirier has since been announced as Islam Makhachev’s next title challenger at 155lbs, come UFC 302, on June 1 after Arman Tsarukyan rejected quick turnaround call
- As new featherweight champion Ilia Topuria watches cageside, former 145lb king calls for title matchup next, “whether in Spain, Hawaii or wherever” after stunning KO – tied for latest-ever finish in UFC history
Well, well, well.
Max Holloway did promise to produce, and delivered an unforgettable moment worthy of the acclaim few are fortunate to ever experience in their careers, after beckoning Justin Gaethje to stand-and-trade with him in the final seconds of a five-round duel he was clearly winning, then sending him to sleep with an overhand right.
As I said earlier in the week, it’s bullish actions like these which mean he is universally revered and while this wasn’t a flawless performance, Holloway’s investments in spinning heel kicks, persistent jab work and distance control against an increasingly hampered Gaethje left him running out of ideas rather drastically.
It was a battle between calf kicks and steady boxing in the early going, Gaethje struggling to find his range and waiting too long to throw attacks during a tense opening stanza where the BMF champion’s nose was badly damaged in the final seconds after being stunned by a heel kick – not for the last time either.
A bad eyepoke compounded Justin’s pain early in the second, before Holloway inadvertently poked him again in the other eye not long after. Unable to breathe properly, vision impaired and clearly struggling for much balance, investing in low leg kicks and keeping their exchanges up close was Gaethje’s best weapon.
High kicks were doing the trick for Holloway, who landed the right hand all too often against a game competitor clearly struggling to maintain his bearings.
Couple that with the former featherweight champion avoiding his wild haymakers, this had all the makings of a shutout performance.
Then just as more jab work continued to pierce Gaethje’s defence, he scored a knockdown – not officially classed as one – deep into the fourth as a vicious right hand rattled across the top of Holloway’s head.
The first time he’d been dropped in his UFC career, Max refused to let it be a turning point. Trevor Wittman implored urgency from his charge before the fifth, aware Gaethje was losing wide and needed a hail mary to recover.
Yet, almost as if he knew, the unsteady legs and defensive deficiencies made it so dangerous to throw caution to the wind as Holloway continued countering well.
The ten-second clapper sounded, Holloway pointing to the centre of the Octagon for the warriors to slug it out as time expired. A risky tactic paying off in devastating fashion, it’s remarkable just how quickly this sport and the storylines we follow shift on a sixpence without warning. Moments like these are why we love it so dearly.
Tsaruykan outsmarts Oliveira after Nickal wins again
Former lightweight king Charles Oliveira twice almost submitted Arman Tsarukyan with a tightly-squeezed guillotine choke, in rounds one and three but got the gameplan wrong and ultimately lost a split decision (28-29, 29-28 x 2) over 15 frantic minutes in their title eliminator packed with dramatic momentum swings.
Tsarukyan needed to show his steely resolve on a few occasions, whether staying composed in the heat of a dangerous submission manoeuvre or refusing to panic after Oliveira’s grounded upkick foul caused a pause in the action in the first stanza.
Unfazed, he picked up the pace after losing round one while reminding neutrals of his potent stand-up skills, slick ground reversals and striking variety at his disposal against a former champion wearing the damage across his face like he usually does.
There was no complaints from Do Bronx as the scorecards were read, graciously accepting his fate with critics naturally wishing it was a five-round headliner to answer more questions of the ambitious Armenian contender hunting for gold.
Eight significant strikes, three takedowns, two submission attempts and one successful rear-naked choke for rising middleweight talent Bo Nickal as he broke new ground – ntering round two for the first time as a pro – and gave himself a double thumbs down after failing to blast Cody Brundage away (R2, 3:38).
Having only made his professional debut in June 2022, following a storied wrestling background that began more than 20 years ago, the 28-year-old would’ve expected to start 2024 with another showcase display after his first two UFC fights lasted little over three-and-a-half minutes combined. This definitely wasn’t that.
Brundage, a year older and an accomplished high school wrestler himself, was making his 16th pro MMA appearance and knew better how to deal with someone whose ground game attacks had simply swarmed the rest of recent competition.
Nickal was perhaps importantly made to work for it, but still got the job done before warning the critics that he’d soon make them love him so long as they maintained patience given how studiously the promotion appear to be pushing him.
Prochazka back with a bang to cap eight-fight prelim slate
In the night’s featured prelim at 205lbs, former light-heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka waded through fire and an ominous start to successfully defend his #2 divisional ranking against a returning Aleksandar Rakic via R2 TKO (3:17, punches).
The #5 ranked contender began well in his first fight for 23 months and landed many noteworthy shots, one-two combos and right hands connecting clean.
Yet as time wore on, he was punished for technical defensive mistakes during their stand-up exchanges and unable to maintain centre ring as the Czech charged forward – compromised leg and all – applying unorthodox pressure. Stung repeatedly as the difference in power was apparent, it foreshadowed a frantic finish.
The 31-year-old then stressed a desire to face the Pereira-Hill winner next, having fought with the uncanny resolve and stubborn fight tendencies we’re used to seeing from someone readily welcoming big risks with bigger rewards on the horizon.
Although there was controversy over the manner of his second-round stoppage defeat by Pereira last year, there’s no real clamour to see a rematch just five months on and instead it’d make sense if he fought Magomed Ankalaev [3] next.
“I’m not a samurai, a guy from the Czech Republic – this something is inside me, it pushed me more to prove that I’m living with these rules and believe in myself, dreams in my head, want to prove to everyone I can make the best performance of the night, no matter what.”
- Prochazka on reaction to Rakic’s criticism of his samurai lifestyle after a comeback win
Sterling’s steady, if unspectacular featherweight debut
It wasn’t an exciting 145lb debut for former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, though the 34-year-old got the job done cleanly via UD3 (30-27 x 3) while reeling off a new career-best eight takedowns (on 13 attempts) against Calvin Kattar, quickly found himself outmatched in the wrestling stakes on this occasion.
Sterling logged 10:43 worth of control time in a 15-minute fight, but didn’t have any submission attempts or threaten many fight-ending ground strikes from a dominant position as the Funkmaster ended an eight-month layoff and left us with more questions about where exactly he fits into the picture among a new weight division.
Kattar was ranked #8 heading into this contest, Sterling #2 at 135lbs, though there are a series of fantasy matchups against top-ranked opposition where the jiu-jitsu black belt wouldn’t be favoured to win – Brian Ortega [3] and Movsar Evloev [5] among them for various reasons. It’ll be interesting to see what his next move is, mind.
Harrison gets Nunes purring after dominant Holm scalp
Former PFL lightweight champion Kayla Harrison marked her UFC debut with an assertive win over decorated former champion Holly Holm, earning a R2 submission (1:47, rear-naked choke) before an interested viewer posted their reaction on social media – former teammate and retired two-division titlist Amanda Nunes.
Speculation suggested the pair would inevitably face off at some stage, before Nunes’ stunning R2 title loss by Julianna Pena – also a rear-naked choke – at UFC 269 in December 2021. Harrison was cageside and had a viral angry post-fight reaction, many perceiving it to be frustration at missing out on a big legacy bout.
While maintaining the view she would put the division on notice with this showing at 135lbs – her debut at the weight – Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter suggested during a backstage interview with her that current champion Raquel Pennington is likely sidelined until October, so Harrison’s options for appearance #2 are unclear.
Nunes’ retirement from the sport will reach the one-year mark in June and I’ve reported since that the Brazilian, turning 36 at the end of May, didn’t exactly close the door on a return (for the right dance partner) but said she had some lingering nerve damage problems to deal with. No promises of course, but watch this space.
Lopes vanquishes Yusuff, Turner’s night to forget
Diego Lopes needed just shy of 90 seconds to raise his stock further at 145lbs, racing beyond #13 ranked contender Sodiq Yusuff to score a first-round TKO win (1:29, punches) and leave the Las Vegas crowd in awe of a burgeoning Brazilian star.
Now riding a three-fight win streak – all in the first-round – it felt pointed that he used his mic time afterwards to call for an Evloev rematch, having memorably excelled on short-notice in his promotional debut against the unbeaten Russian last May.
Jalin Turner won’t enjoy watching this one back, but one note to self for the 28-year-old: when you have your opponent hurt, don’t let him off the hook.
The #10-ranked contender thought he had a walk-off knockout win and $300,000 performance bonus heading into his bank account after dropping Renato Moicano [13] rather heavily in the opening round but the Brazilian recovered well before earning a second-round TKO finish of his own (4:11, punches) in a tale of two rounds.
Former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade made more history to join three others tied for first with most divisional wins (10) at 115lbs, doing so against a game compatriot in longtime contender Marina Rodriguez over 15 minutes.
Still only 32, she scored a split decision (28-29, 29-28 x 2) victory after logging 49% significant strike success (89 of 180 landed) and just under four minutes’ control time as her third-round takedown proved pivotal en route to getting her hand raised.
Join the club: 10 strawweight wins
Jessica Andrade, having floated between two divisions (10-5)
2024 Hall of Famer Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10-4)
Former two-time champion Carla Esparza (10-5)
African-American history maker Angela Hill (10-13)
In a battle of two lightweight veterans, Bobby Green started well and went through the gears en route to a lopsided UD3 win (30-27, 30-25, 29-26) over Jim Miller.
Significant striking totals
R1: Green 43-17 (51%)
R2: Green 61-20 (53%)
R3: Green 82-20 (67%), one knockdown and takedown
Green’s growing success saw him drop the promotion’s longest-tenured fighter in round three but it wasn’t enough to get the stoppage King naturally would’ve craved.
Speaking of stoppages though, former UFC flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo found one on the ground as he improved to 2-0 in his new weight class against fellow former titlist Cody Garbrandt via a second-round submission (4:02, rear-naked choke) in the night’s first bout, where most could’ve easily headlined their own cards.
Picture source: Getty Images
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