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Spartans, ready your breakfast and eat hardy, for tonight we dine in hell!
UFC 300 was stacked to the brim, and delivered all the goods and then some. You know I had to use some 300 quotes to open things up here. UFC's special 300 event was summarized just like the film: an action-filled thriller, with immense drama, and jaw-dropping moments of cinema. We jumped on a rollercoaster of violence, thrill, and joy that created a raw and unforgettable night of combat. A night for the ages; just as it was billed.
This piece is expansive, despite the fact I could simply just write about UFC 300. I'll do a quick review of the main-card and best moments, but also have some business to discuss now that 300 is done and gone. We have some more blockbusters booked for the late-spring and summer, and have several title pictures that await further clarity now that many fights have taken place. On top of that, I have updates to both pound-for-pound lists that needs to be publicized. You have the slate; time to lock the cage door.
What an extravaganza in Vegas to write in 300 chapters of the UFC on PPV. The event leadup was special, and the event lived up to the hype- from the very opening minute of the prelims; it was special. The house was packed inside for the first bout between Cody Garbrandt and Deiveson Figueiredo. Something we have never seen before. The very first fight of the event. Packed to the brim. Headbangs, yells, and pure excitement from the first row, to the top row. Stars and fighters in their seats 4 hours earlier than usual. The energy. The atmosphere. It was different. The gladiators felt that special energy and responded accordingly. The 300K bonuses helped too.
Both the early prelims and the main prelims delivered us memorable moments. Figgy and Garbrandt had a perfect kick-starter to set the pace. Jim Miller went full ironman mode (23 stitches, broken hand, and broken toe) as he refused to give-in to Bobby Green's masterclass striking performance:
Diego Lopes tore the house down, and Moicano used MMA karma to springboard him into another epic post-fight interview. Each moment was loud in the noise department, but two took the cake. Two stood out the most, with both moments creating interesting dominoes to fall in the near future.
Kayla Harrison has arrived. Jiří Procházka is back.
Finally (Rock's voice), Kayla Harrison is officially a big leaguer. She has officially made the big time of MMA comp. Making her name known with a dominant, and quick debut dub over UFC great Holly Holm. As it was a breeze for Harrison; you can't take anything away from her performance. The striking (on the feet) wasn't put on showcase, but Harrison showed why she is a judo-master by cruising to a submission win with control time, top power, and suffocating grappling. Harrison likes ground n pound even more now. Elbowmania! Holm was sure an easy opp; Harrison did what she said she would do. She has arrived. Now it's time to see her step the comp' bar up. I expect a quick rise to such bar.
We have a new threat in the women's division (any weight). A good thing for the UFC and for the sport. Harrison has proven she belongs; now it's time to back up the "best in the world" talk. It's good to have her be a part of the picture moving forward. I am excited to see her next booking. Harrison made her name known to the UFC masses- at least under terms of being inside the Octagon. The man who took over the prelim main-event had already been known. That being the former Light Heavyweight champ' Jiří Procházka. Saturday wasn't about making his name known, no. It was about making his stance known. That a loss wouldn't define him; that it wouldn't eliminate him from the top of the LHW food-chain. Mission accomplished.
Procházka is indeed... back. What a performance over a GAME Aleksandar Rakić. Jiří is a wild-wild cat, god forbid if you make fun of his samurai influence. He welcomes the fire; pushin' his foot down on the accelerator in every bout. That was no different at 300. Rakić was superb on the feet, piecing up Procházka in spurts early on, in what looked like his best career performance. Then the flip switched. The intensity and focus of Procházka was too much for Rakić to bear. Jiří was relentless on the attack. Procházka was determined that victory was the only outcome as he went forward and forward until his opponent broke. True gladiator s***. A 300K type of performance (POTN) to put his name back in the circle for a title shot. Checkout this crowd angle of Procházka conquering his kill:
video via Home of Fight//X and UFC//X
The prelims delivered the goods, setting up a great main-card of action that delivered an A-grade championship performance, furious violence, and two epic moments that will be talked about in combat galore for eternity. One had us screaming. The other had us bamboozled. Both had us picking our jaws off the floor.
The first fight went exactly how we predicted it would go. The rising Bo Nickal worked to his perfections to route Cody Brundage to an easy second-round submission dub. I do laugh when I hear people boo a Nickal or Aljo Sterling (prelim dub) for working their craft rather than exchanging in a fire-fight. It's mixed-martial-arts, folks. Mixed. Martial. Arts. Cha heard? I know we want violence allllll the time (I am in that boat), but there is so much more to the sport than just watching a bloodbath. Don't boo the technical side of the sport, or go watch bare knuckle fist-fighting. Might fit your appeal more. Now back on subject; the fight went as predicted. Quick and easy for Bo. Like Harrison, time to jump up that comp' bar for Nickal. The opening fight set up Oliveira/Tsarukyan to officially set the energy for the rest of the main-card.
That's exactly what the cats did. I thought the fight was beyond solid, despite my guy Do Bronxs not getting his job done. The scorecard was the right card with Tsarukyan getting the 29-28 nod. Once again, Oliveira was dangerous applying two separate deadly submissions, including one in the final moments of the fight that almost pulled a wildcard.
Do Bronxs was solid in his demeanor and judo, as dangerous as ever, but his game-plan... ouch. He focused away from his strengths completely. Instead of striking on the feet, he bailed out. Olives kept the feeling he could finish the fight at any moment, but he worked right into Tsarukyan's strengths and away from his own. That was the demise. As he did in his title bout against Islam Makhachev. You can be deadly on your back, but you aren't deadly to a grizzly bear. I hope Poirier has a similar reflection regarding his guillotine against Islam. That stuff won't work against these cats. Oliveira welcomed Arman to control the fight by playing to his strengths. Solid performance by Tsarukyan. He survived some deep chokes, and worked the fight well. Safe to say he is ready for the higher echelon of comp' in the lightweight division. Hopefully this loss doesn't hurt Oliveira's stock; as he was destined for a rematch with Makhachev with a win at 300. Despite the loss, he proved he still has some flame left in the wick of being one of the very elite. Hopefully he gets a chance to climb back up the ladder. Then things got WILD.
Max freakin' Holloway! The show-stealer. The Blessed One. The BMF.
Holloway has officially placed his stamp as an all-timer. I'm talkin' Mt. Rushmore all-timer stuff to tease into everyone's lovely GOAT debates. What a performance by Max. A performance that earned him a double-bonus; cashing out at $600K. He added more strikes to his stat records, more blood to the canvas, and more nasal bones broken. I predicted Gaethje's size and power to be too much for Holloway. Sure enough, I was proven wrong. Max proves us wrong every time. In over 30 fights, against the likes of McGregor, Poirier, Gaethje, Volk, Yair, Ortega, and Anthony Pettis; Holloway has NEVER been knocked down inside the Octagon. Never. Not the case for his opponents.
Holloway was in crunch-time mode all fight long. He used the meat of each round to punish and batter Gaethje with strikes on the feet. Piecing him up with combinations in each round. The size meant nothing. Max worked each orbital like a plastic surgeon. It wasn't for the final moments of rounds when the nuclear bombs dropped. End of round one, Max disfigures Gaethje's nose with a swift spinning-heel-kick. As flush as they come. The bomb that set up the derail as it became imminent with how Gaethje struggled to breath with the shatter. Shoutout to him on that. The dude is a pure gladiator. Never booed, only awed for his sacrifices to entertain the masses. Only Gerald Butler could play that role better. Truly.
The end was the best part. An end that will be talked about for years and years. Crunch-time Holloway fully-activated, he strikes down one of the most electric sequences in MMA history. One I still don't have the right words for. You must take in, or retake in the visual yourselves. In the very final seconds of the fight:
video via DanaWhite//X
Holloway was seemingly seconds away from securing a 49-46 dub over Gaethje, just to say screw it, to throw down with one of the more dangerous haymaker artist across the MMA world, then knocking him unconscious on the final second of the fight. As gritty and epic a motive and moment that we will ever see inside the Octagon. Now he, Holloway, is one of the most dangerous haymaker artist in the MMA world. Back-to-back now, both after calling for it. Holloway is as bad as they come. Checkout the epic knockout from a crowd angle and some of the reactions from fellow fighters ringside (don't mind the audio on the second one):
video via UFC//X
Both title fights ended with us seeing two dominant champs rise to the top of their respected pound-for-pound lists as we heard "And Still" ring loudly across the Octagon to close out UFC 300.
There is no doubt in my mind that Zhang Weili is now the pound-for-pound best after 49-45'ing Yan Xiaonan at 300 to defend her throne for the second time. Weili was outmatched in the striking department, but you would have never known it across the five-rounds of title action. It never worried her; nor did the difference keep Weili from going away from her patent game-plan. I was utterly impressed in the champ's performance, and was quite surprised she didn't finish Yan. Which is a kudos to Xiaonan. Yan got caught and went to sleep to end the 1st-round, but Herzog let her continue. The fact she got put to sleep and then immediately continued to battle for twenty more minutes in the highest level of comp' is remarkable.
The women's fight got a whopping 30 billion views in China; which is awesome to hear. Those two women went to war; glad to see they were on full display in their home-country China, as well as across the globe. Sucks the BMF bout the fight before took the spotlight, and that the ladies had to follow that up. They sure did a great job, though. Weili's performance has put her into a final boss tier as she has now mowed down the 1, 3, and 4 atop the Strawweight division. Rose is her only kryptonite; I question if Namajunas can climb back up the ladder, despite her recent win over Ribas. Tatiana Suarez might be the only one remaining to dethrone Weili any time soon. That should be the next booking for the champ's third defense. First, we shall allow the queen to rest after another brushin' of the hands performance. We will definitely see her again in 2024. Embrace.
It's time we fully embrace Poatan. Another remarkable performance by Alex Pereira, this time in his first light heavyweight title defense. The aura the moment he entered the scene still gives me the goosebumps. He is arguably the most bone-chilling competitor we have ever seen. His demeanor, his drive, and his pure game-face just creates a scene unlike any other. His knockout power is the cherry on top. The final stroke of paint. Pure beauty.
I truly believe Jamahal Hill, the Grand Rapids kid, lost the fight the moment he locked eyes with Pereira. I know he played it off cool, but it's a given. Realistically, he lost the moment he trash talked Poatan at the presser. You could see the flip in the head. This is what J-Hill had to look at prior to the gates to the war field opening:
video via Provyy//X
Pereira was insanely locked-in. Driven as ever; with goal of destruction the only thing on his mind an in his crosshairs. Hill actually looked pretty solid early on into the bout, all it took was one moment of lapse judgement/focus for him to fall victim to the Poatan Power. Hill's lost of focus is thanks to one of the more unforgettable moments in UFC history. Pereira checked an alleged groin shot, then checked Herb Dean with his hand, before flooring Hill and finishing him:
video via AjDuxche//X
"Let me cook" in a MMA meme. Pereira tells Dean it was a clean strike, then returns his focus to calculating a fatal blow. Plus the celebration on top of it all. The hands down like "look at what happens". Masterful, mister Pereira. Just masterful. From the combination, to the viciously fast and damaging ground n pound, topped off by the celly. Poetry in motion that set up poetry in a visual:
The look on Hill's face says it all. He's looking up at a final boss. An unreal moment to cap off UFC 300. What a feat for Pereira to beat Procházka for the gold, then for him to defend it successfully against the returning Hill. Pretty solid slate of comp'. Pereira's slaying of Hill is one that won't be forgotten. A pure mic-drop moment. To get that sequence, plus the Holloway knockout, on the same main-card is ultra-rare. 300 really lived up to the hype and expectations; then lifted off to another stratosphere. Pereira couldn't have capped the event off in any other style.
Lets play some bookie. Some Sean Shelby. 300 finishes the last crop of top fights to be competed, leaving us with a slew of guys that can now be booked to fight higher in the rankings to fill cards in the coming months of spring and summer. Including champions. We just heard about the first champion to be officially booked in Makhachev, whom is defending his lightweight crown against none other than Dustin Poirier. We know Grasso (c) versus Shevchenko 3 is signed; they just await a date and location. Poirier/Makhachev is official for June 1st at 302. The lightweight division still has high ranks that will be looking to sign to fight for spring/summer, plus other divisions. Who should fight next?
I am not sure on the lightweight activity in the coming months with Max Holloway takin' a respected short break, McGregor/Chandler booked (June 22) to fight at 170 pounds, and 1-4 either booked or fought at 300 and is likely suspended. We will await the outcome of the title fight with Poirier and go from there. Maybe Moicano can fight a Dariush or Gamrot soon. The first to-do list items has to be Leon Edwards, Pereira's callout, as well as the welterweight, featherweight, and women's bantamweight divisions.
I agree with Dana's remarks regarding Pereira's callout of moving up to heavyweight for a quick turnaround fight at UFC 301 in Brazil. Not a good move. Pereira is certainly capable of fighting at 301 after his quick knockout, but not at heavyweight. Relax killer. First thing that should happen? They call-up Procházka and see if he is crazy enough (he is) to travel to Brazil to rematch Poatan in Pereira's backyard. A black-eye can heal quick, but if Procházka is a no-go; then you ring Ankalaev's line. Bottom line? If Pereira wants 301; make it happen, but in favor of the light-heavyweight division. Next champion, Leon Edwards, has to be defending his strap before fall, right? I'm assuming he will be on the summer docket, but I could be wrong. The opponent is the biggest question from Edwards' scenario. I think they do Rakhmonov/Della Maddalena some time soon with Shavkat finally having a partner willing to dance in war. Covington/Garry is in the works as well. Leaving the only real candidate to be Belal Muhammad. Sorry, UFC. It's gotta be Muhammad.
Dricus du Plessis defending his title should also be on the spring/summer docket, I presume. I think the UFC will have difficulty in booking champs Topuria and O'Malley. Dricus will be less difficult, despite the desire for the next bout to be against Adesanya somewhere overseas or in South Africa. Is Adesanya even willing to fight in the next few months? Seems like he is just flirting/teasing the possibility... I recall a 4-year break banter not so long ago. Who knows. If it's not Izzy, then Dricus' first defense has to be either Cannonier, or the winner of Strickland/Costa (June 1st). Outside of booking the champions willing/able for summer fights, lets start booking the available ranked fighters! I'd like to see Kayla Harrison rock again soon. Shavkat/Della Maddalena... as discussed. Book it. Aspinall/Blaydes 2. Michael Page. Book them; lets go!
I have Weili as my new current pound-for-pound queen after her 300 performance. It's crazy that Namajunas is her only kryptonite in the UFC. Weili has won four in a row since the set of losses to Rose. Two title defenses; four total dominations. I feel her to be more well-rounded and dangerous than Alexa Grasso. That can all change if Grasso can end the chapter with Bullet with an exclamation point. For now, my pound-for-pound best is Zhang Weili.
Weili moves to the one spot, and I also have Manon Fiorot jumpin' into the top-5 for the first time with her solid dub over Erin Blanchfield. Fiorot has now lined herself up for a title shot as we await the Grasso/Shevchenko saga to write its final chapter. Fiorot should have the winner. Andrade and Namajunas makes moves up the ladder with their respected wins as well. Here is how my top-15 looks as we move forward to the new "century" of UFC:
May be controversial to some, but I have Alex Pereira slip-streamin' past Leon Edwards to the 2-spot atop my Men's Pound-for-Pound list. Poatan's last five UFC wins are against Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, Jiří Procházka, and now Jamahal Hill. Just an unreal list of slayings, and each slaying was done effortlessly it felt. AP is a different animal. Now he wants to fight at heavyweight? His challenges become bigger and bigger.
People are downgrading J-Hill's skill at light-heavyweight in a big way. Like the young cat didn't maul down Pereira's great friend Glover Teixeira. Walking over Hill is a massive achievement. Which is why I think his case is now stronger than Leon Edwards. It feels like Pereira can go to any division and be a grim reaper. So impressive. I'd also be wildly impressed if he turns around and fights at 301. No matter his opponent. That motive would define why he sits where he sits on the pound-for-pound list. All hail Poatan.
AP moves up, and Max Holloway skyrockets up (+7)! Holloway moving up in weight to face one of the more devastating power threats in MMA history is gritty and straight up badass. For him to go in there and outclass the cat on the feet across 4.9 rounds, and then knock him out the way he did... hit the button; Max deserves to shoot up the rankings forsho. He has shown to beat the very best and in the most spectacular of ways. It's good to have him back up the pound-for-pound ranks. His career is no where near done. Can't wait for his next step. Here is how my current top-15 looks for the men's side of the table:
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