On April 13th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) 300 will take place in what is set to be a historic card.
From the first prelim of the night to the main event, every fight should be entertaining. The first fight of the night is a Bantamweight matchup between the No. 8 ranked Deiveson Figueiredo and unranked Cody Garbrandt. Other fights on the prelims include UFC legend Jim Miller, who is the first and only fighter to ever compete in UFC 100, 200, and 300. Additionally, PFL (Professional Fighters League) Star Kayla Harrison will make her UFC Debut against Holly Holm in the Women’s Bantamweight showdown. Aljamain Sterling makes his move up to Featherweight to challenge long-time UFC veteran, No. 8 ranked Calvin Kattar. Jiri Prochazka, the former Light Heavyweight champion and No. 2 ranked Light Heavyweight faces off against No. 5 ranked Aleksander Rakic.
Kicking off the main card, former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal takes on Cody Brundage in a Middleweight bout which sees Nickal as the highest betting favorite ever in the history of the UFC. Following that fight, Charles Olivera, the No. 1 Ranked Lightweight contender, will face rising star and No. 4 ranked Lightweight Arman Tsruykan. The winner of this fight is likely to get a title shot against Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
In the third fight of the main card, Justin Gaethje takes on Max Holloway. Justin Gaethje, won his last fight in July of last year, knocking out UFC veteran Dustin Porier. Holloway, the #1 Featherweight contender is moving up a weight class to challenge Gaethje in the Lightweight division for a five round bout. Both of these fighters are fan favorites that are sure to put up a great fight.
The co-main event is Zhang Weili taking on Yan Xiaonon for the Women’s Strawweight title. This is the first-ever full Chinese title fight. Both Weili and Xianon are coming off wins in their previous fights. Weili just defended her belt for the first time in a dominant win over Amanda Lemos at UFC 292. Xiaonon knocked out Jessica Andrade at UFC 288 to earn the title shot against Weili.
In the main event of the night, Alex Pereira defends his Light Heavyweight title for the first time against Jamahl Hill. Pereira has had a quick rise to fame in the UFC, starting in the weight class below Middleweight, where he racked up wins against the likes of Sean Strickland and arch-rival Israel Adesanya. Pereira won the title by brutal fifth-round knockout in Madison Square Garden at UFC 281. However, in his first title defense, a rematch with Adesanya, it was Pereira who fell to the Last Stylebender, and Pereira decided a move-up to Light Heavyweight was best.
Pereira made his light heavyweight debut against Jan Blachowiz and won via split decision at UFC 291. Then, in the same place he won his Middleweight title, he faced Jiri Prochazka for the Light Heavyweight title in Madison Square Garden. Pereira stopped Prochazka in the second round to claim his second belt in the UFC.
Hill started in Dana White’s Contender Series and slowly worked his way to the top of the Light Heavyweight ladder. At UFC 283, Hill faced Glover Teixeira, a long-time friend of Pereira, for the Light Heavyweight title in Texeria’s home country of Brazil. Hill dominated Texeria for five rounds and won the contest by unanimous decision. However, Hill suffered a torn achilles in July, forcing him to vacate the title and let Pereira claim it.
Hill is looking to take back what is his, while Pereira is looking to defend his title and take revenge for what Hill did to Pereira’s long-time friend in Teixeira.
This card has the possibility to be the best pay-per-view event in the UFC’s history.
