We knew heading into UFC 300 that every fight mattered. And after a night of watching some of the best mixed martial artists on the planet throw down, that still rings true. From flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo choking out former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt in the curtain-jerker to Alex Pereira putting Jamahal Hill to sleep to retain the light heavyweight title in the main event, it was truly a night to remember.
And wait, there’s more.
Former featherweight champion Max Holloway moved up to 155 pounds to face reigning BMF champion Justin Gaethje and provided fans in attendance and those viewing live around the world with an unforgettable KO in the final second of their five-round fight.
It was a night of knockouts, submissions and the best facing the best. But it will be remembered most for Holloway cementing himself as the BMF of BMFs. Here’s how the memorable card, with 13 former or current champions competing, unfolded:
UFC 300 main card results, highlights
• Light heavyweight championship: Alex Pereira def. Jamahal Hill by KO (punch) at 3:14 of R1:
UFC 300 ended with a bang. Courtesy of Alex Pereira. The UFC light heavyweight champion won the main event of the highly anticipated card with a first-round knockout of former champion Jamahal Hill. The tone of the entire fight was intense, with the fighters staring each other down as the first bell arrived. That wound up being significant when Hill hit Pereira with a low blow. Referee Herb Dean moved in to pause the fight, but Pereira waved him away while keeping all eyes on Hill. He then leveled the challenger with a vicious left uppercut.
• Women’s strawweight championship: Zhang Weili def. Yan Xiaonan by unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45):
In a rollercoaster ride of a five-rounder, Zhang Weili was able to hold off Yan Xiaonan’s upset bid. Zhang was dominant in the first two rounds, having choked Yan to near submission at the closing seconds of the first and controlling her for the majority of the second. But Yan was able to bounce back in the third with the champ seemingly running out of gas. Yan’s momentum shift came to an end in the fourth round when Zhang was able to get back control. The fifth round played out mostly the same and Zhang was able to retain the title via unanimous decision.
• Lightweight: Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje by KO (punch) at 4:59 of R5:
Max Holloway is a certified BMF. And then some. The former UFC featherweight champion defeated fan favorite Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 on Saturday, winning the promotion’s ceremonial “BMF” belt in the wildest fashion possible. Seconds from a clear unanimous decision win, Holloway opted to go full throttle with Gaethje in the middle of the Octagon. The result was not just the clear Knockout of the Year, but perhaps the wildest knockout in the 31-year history of the UFC.
• Lightweight: Arman Tsarukyan def. Charles Oliveira by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Arman Tsarukyan prevails on the judges’ scorecards and notches the biggest win of his career against the former champ. Oliveira started and ended the fight with two prime opportunities to choke out the rising star, but Tsarukyan survived both and handily beat him in both significant strikes and ground control time. That could open the door for another shot at lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for Tsarukyan, who made his UFC debut against Makhachev in April 2019 and lost a close decision.
• Middleweight: Bo Nickal def. Cody Brundage via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:38 of R2:
Bo Nickal once again displayed his incredible wrestling ability in a one-sided performance against Cody Brundage, who was clearly outclassed in the grappling exchanges. Brundage was able to survive into the second round, but that was more a testament to his toughness than Nickal just wanting to get more Octagon time after finishing all of his previous opponents in the first round. For his next opponent, Nickal mentioned Anthony Hernandez and Roman Kopylov in his post-fight interview.
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.
UFC 300 live blog
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