UFC 300 Fight Predictions
31 years in the making, UFC 300 is a huge milestone in the history of the UFC. UFC 200 had an absolutely stacked main and undercard with fights like Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz 2 in which Conor was removed from the line up because he refused to appear at a press conference; Daniel Cormier vs Jon Jones 2 which turned into Cormier vs Anderson Silva because Jones was pulled by USADA, and Miesha Tate vs Amanda Nunes, during UFC 199 it was revealed that the former UFC Heavyweight Champion and WWE Superstar, Brock Lesnar, would be returning for UFC 200 to fight Mark Hunt, and all of that madness was leading up to the event just for the main card.
The fans of the UFC had very high and unrealistic hopes for 300 such as Jon Jones coming back after being injured in October of 2023, Brock Lesnar coming back again, some people thought Dana White was going to bring Khabib Nurmagomedov out of retirement to fight Conor McGregor again. Some fans are kind of disappointed because of how high their expectations were, but the card is very, very good. Let’s look at some of the fights I am excited to see.
Prelims
“The Boston Finisher” Calvin Kattar vs “Funk Master” Aljamain Sterling
Featherweight Bout
Calvin Kattar has a record of 23 wins (10 in the first round)- 7 loses-0 ties with 11 wins via knockout and 2 wins via submission. Kattar stands at 5 ft 11 in with a reach of 72 in and he fights with heavy focus on striking.
Former Bantamweight Champion, Aljamain Sterling, has a record of 23 wins-4 loses-0 ties with 3 wins via knockout and 8 wins via submission. Sterling stands at 5 ft 7 in with a reach of 71 in and he utilizes his mastery of bjj.
This could be a very long fight if Aljamain Sterling doesn’t take down Kattar and submit him as we have seen in the past, Kattar is very, very tough as seen in his fight with Max Holloway where they went the full 5 rounds and Kattar absorbed 447 strikes while still taking the loss because Holloway is untouchable. I do believe Sterling will take the W in this match via submission.
Main Card
Charles “do Bronxs” Oliveira vs Arman “Ahalkalakets” Tsarukyan
Lightweight Bout
Former Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira has a record of 34 wins-9 loses-0 ties with 10 wins via knockout and 21 wins via submission. Oliveira stands at 5 ft 10 in with a reach of 74 in and he fights with heavy emphasis on his bjj mastery. Oliveira holds UFC records for most the wins via submission, most finishes and most bonuses.
Arman Tsarukyan has a record of 21 wins (8 in the first round)-3 loses-0 ties with 9 wins via knockout and 5 wins via submission. Tsarukyan stands at 5 ft 7 in with a reach of 72.5 in and he has a well-rounded fighting style.
Both of these warriors are coming off of wins. Arman has a very good and well-rounded game, but Oliveira is even better, and I believe he will take this fight. Oliveira is easily the best submission artist the sport has ever seen, and he still has enough power in his standing game to rock people. Oliviera is the underdog in this fight but I’m giving it to him via submission to add to his record.
Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje vs Max “Blessed” Holloway
Lightweight Bout
Justin Gaethje has a record of 26 wins (9 in the first round)- 4 loses- 0 ties with 20 wins via knockout. Gaethje stands at 5 ft 11 in with a reach of 70 in and has a very good stand-up game with knockout power. Gaethje holds the record for the highest significant stike accuracy percentage in UFC Lightweight history with 60.3%. Gaethje also holds the BMF title(BaddestM*****F*****). Gaethje’s 4 loses have come against some of the best Lightweight fighters in history.
Former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway has a record of 25 wins-7 loses-0 ties with 11 wins via knockout and 2 wins via submission. Holloway stands at 5 ft 11 in with a 69 in reach and has an impeccable stand-up game while also having never been knocked down before. Holloway has records for the longest win streak in Featherweight history with 13 which is also tied for the third longest win streak in UFC history, most wins in Featherweight history with 20, most finishes in Featherweight history with 11, most knockouts in Featherweight history with 9, most significant strikes absorbed in UFC history with 2121, most significant strikes landed in a fight in UFC history with 445, and much more UFC history that guarantees Holloway’s place in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Both fighters are coming off wins and are loved in the UFC, so fans will be sad to see one lose. Gaethje has incredible power, but Holloway never goes down. This fight is going to be Max Holloway’s first in the lightweight division since 2019 where he went against Dustin Poirier and he is having to go up in weight to compete, but Holloway is looking buff and seems to have more power behind his punches than the last time he danced around the octagon. Holloway has taken beatings from the likes of Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, José Aldo, Chan Sung Jung (Korean Zombie), and even the goat of the Featherweight division, Alexander Volkanovski, and throughout all of that he has never been knocked down once in his career in the UFC. Gaethje is one of the best fighters in the UFC at creating damage but he is going up against the best fighter at absorbing damage so I will give this fight to Hollway, either way I think this fight could easily win fight of the night.
Alex “Poatan” Pereira vs Jamahal “Sweet Dreams” Hill
Light Heavyweight Championship
Former UFC Middleweight Champion and current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the world, Alex Pereira has a record of 9 wins (3 in the first round)-2 loses- 0 ties with 7 wins via knockout. Pereira stands at 6 ft 4 in with a reach of 79 in and he is a kickboxer with a good stand-up game.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jamahal Hill has a record of 12 wins (4 in the first round)-1 loss-0 ties with 7 wins via knockout. Hill stands at 6 ft 4 in with a reach of 79 in and he has a very good, well rounded fighting style.
Honestly hard to make a call on this one because Pereira has had a historic rise to UFC gold and is already one of few to hold belts in different weight classes, and he looks like he could be the first to hold it in three different divisions if he moves up to Heavyweight, however, Hill is technically the rightful owner of the belt and only lost it due to rupturing his Achillies a year before. Hill won the belt in dominant fashion but didn’t get to defend it. Pereira does have the experience advantage in mixed martial arts with his previous domination in the world of kickboxing, where he was a two-division champion, but I give the most impactful advantage to Hill, because Pereira has been seen to be weak in the areas of grappling but is only improving over time. If Hill does not submit Pereira, I think the fight will go to split decision. I would prefer if Hill wins because I do believe it would send Pereira to the Heavyweight division whereas if he won I don’t think there would be any interesting fights left for him at Light Heavyweight.