UFC 300 is here and every fight matters. In honor of a milestone pay-per-view card, the Saturday night event has been praised as the “Super Bowl of mixed martial arts,” set to take place in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena.
Of course, the light heavyweight championship clash between reigning champion Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill is the biggest draw. Rapper Drake already wagered $675,000 on Pereira notching the win. But it’s a shot at redemption for Hill, who had to vacate the title last summer due to an Achilles injury.
That said, there are plenty more vanquishers who stand to make statements, as Saturday’s 13 fights boast 12 competitors who have held or currently hold a UFC title belt.
The co-main event between champion Zhang Weili and top contender Yan Xiaonan for the women’s strawweight title is bound to excite fans. The same goes for the lightweight bout between former featherweight champ Max Holloway and “BMF” champion Justin Gaethje.
The matchups on the undercard can’t be ignored either, with the likes of Jiří Procházka, Aljamain Sterling, Kayla Harrison, Holly Holm, Jim Miller, Deiveson Figueiredo and Cody Garbrandt all in action.
Follow along with all of the results and major moments from fight night with Yahoo Sports:
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QUICK PREVIEW: Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage
Who they are: Nickal was a three-time national champion as a wrestler before becoming the bluest of blue chip MMA prospects pretty much as soon as he put on the gloves. Brundage (10-5, 5 KOs) is … the guy whom the UFC called to fight him next.
Why it matters: This is supposed to be the next in a series of showcase fights for Nickal (5-0, 2 KOs). He’s yet to have a fight go beyond the first round, and his last fight showed that he’s learned some striking to complement those world-class wrestling skills. Brundage is being treated as a human sacrifice, but he could instantly become a somebody with a (highly improbable) win here.
Number to remember: +1200. That’s how big of an underdog Brundage was at one point. That’s unheard of in the UFC. If he were to win this, it might be considered the biggest upset in UFC history.
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RESULT: Aljamain Sterling def. Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision
Aljamain Sterling came in and did what he does best: throw his opponent down and let him do nothing. He beat Calvin Kattar 90-13 in significant strikes and earned a unanimous decision (30-27 x 3), but made few fans along the way. He gets a mixed reaction as the decision is announced.
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This fight and the last one is a good case study in how grappling domination can either be exciting or boring. Kayla Harrison ragdolled Holly Holm and consistently used her position to punish the former champ. Aljamain Sterling is up 75-13 in sig strikes and 8-0 in takedowns, and has had his moments, but he’s getting booed for a reason.
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UFC 300 main card, odds (Live now on ESPN+ PPV)
• Light heavyweight championship: Alex Pereira (-135) vs. Jamahal Hill (+110)
• Women’s strawweight championship: Zhang Weili (-550) vs. Yan Xiaonan (+380)
• Lightweight: Justin Gaethje (-150) vs. Max Holloway (+125)
• Lightweight: Charles Oliveira (+185) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (-225)
• Middleweight: Bo Nickal (-2000) vs. Cody Brundage (+950)
UFC 300 prelims results, highlights
• Light heavyweight: Jiří Procházka def. Aleksandar Rakic by TKO at 3:17 of R2:
Jiří Procházka threw caution to the wind against Aleksandar Rakic and his legs and face paid the price. But in the end it was Procházka who won the fight after he caught Rakic with a heavy right hand in the second round and pounced on him. Rakic, for his part, was holding his own for a while and was able to land several lovely counter shots before the big right hand put him on the ground. With Prochazka on top of him, referee Herb Dean allowed Procházka to dole out some heavy punishment before finally waving off the fight.
• Featherweight: Aljamain Sterling def. Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Aljamain Sterling jumped to featherweight after losing his bantamweight title and did what he does best: throw his opponent down and let him do nothing. He beat Calvin Kattar 90-13 in significant strikes and earned an easy unanimous decision win, but made few fans along the way. He got a mixed reaction as the decision was announced.
• Women’s bantamweight: Kayla Harrison def. Holly Holm by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:47 of R2:
From the opening 30 seconds, it was clear this fight wasn’t going to go Holly Holm’s way. Grappling with an elite judoka twice in the first round was never going to go well. Kayla Harrison submitted her in the second round of her UFC debut, having avoided taking a single hit. With the statement win in her UFC debut, Harrison told Joe Rogan she’d be a UFC champion by the end of the year.
• Featherweight: Diego Lopes def. Sodiq Yusuff by TKO (strikes) at 1:29 of R1:
Diego Lopes wasted no time putting his name in the hat for a Performance of the Night bonus after a first-round TKO. Lopes dropped Yusuff within the first minute with a violent uppercut that dropped his opponent. Yusuff was able to recover, only to get dropped again with another uppercut. Lopes moves to 23-6 and called for Movsar Evloev for his next bout.
UFC 300 early prelims results, highlights
• Lightweight: Renato Moicano def. Jalin Turner via TKO (strikes) at 4:11 of R2:
Jalin Turner had finished the fight against Renato Moicano with a devastating walkoff knockout in the final 20 seconds of the first round. Or so he thought. Turner landed a brutal left hand that sent Moicano flying to the mat. Moicano, however, sprang back up and finished the round. Then, he came back in the second round and got the early takedown and eventually finished Turner via ground and pound strikes. It was an incredible comeback for Moicano after a terrible mistake by Turner.
• Women’s strawweight: Jessica Andrade def. Marina Rodriguez by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28):
Not much excitement in the first round as Jessica Andrade used her aggressiveness to maintain space. Marina Rodriguez looked great for most of the second round, showcasing combinations and other strikes until Andrade did some damage in the final minute with a burst of volume. Andrade looked tired at the start of the third round, which was mostly a kickboxing match, and she had significantly more strikes and leg kicks than Rodriguez. It was enough to outpoint Rodriguez on two of the judges scorecards for the split decision victory.
• Lightweight: Bobby Green def. Jim Miller by unanimous decision (30-27 30-25, 29-26):
Bobby Green caught a couple big shots in the first round, but he completely dominated Jim Miller over the next 10 minutes to grab a unanimous decision win. Miller’s face and front torso were completely covered in blood and his right eye was swollen shut by the end. Green talked trash throughout the fight and he more than backed it up, then called out “slimy, sugary little snake” Paddy Pimblett in his post-fight interview.
• Bantamweight: Deiveson Figueiredo def. Cody Garbrandt by submission (rear naked choke) at 4:02 of R2:
Deiveson Figueiredo won his second fight at 135 pounds after being called out by former champion Cody Garbrandt, who had never been submitted in his 19-fight career until Saturday night. Figueiredo took Garbrandt down early in the second round and showed some incredible grappling, but wasn’t able to secure an arm triangle choke. After resetting, a rear naked choke got the job done for Figueiredo, who improves to 22-3-1.
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