It’s been over eight years since UFC 200 was held back in July of 2016, but now the UFC holds a new milestone with the upcoming UFC 300 coming April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
With 12 active and former UFC champions fighting in one night, as well as many different rising contenders and personalities, it has been labeled as “the greatest combat sports card ever assembled” by its owner Dana White. It is no wonder that all combat sports fans across the world will have eyes on this event, and for the Chronicle, fighters anticipated as winners in the sport’s biggest event.
Deiveson Figuiredo (#8) VS Cody Garbrandt
The first card of the event and possibly one of the most exciting fights: Figuiredo versus Garbrandt. Fans will see the night kickoff with two former champions with very different histories across the sport of MMA. Brazilian Figueiredo is a name known across the flyweight division (125 lbs.), with seven previous title fights, and four as the flyweight champion, his experience and skill come with no questions. His move to bantamweight (135 lbs.) comes after losing the belt to Mexico’s Brandon Moreno, and now he faces the young yet experienced Garbrandt.
Another former champion, Garbrandt’s road in the UFC has had both highs and lows. Coming into the UFC in January of 2015, it took the bantamweight less than two years to reach champion status by defeating veteran Dominick Cruz in December of 2016, in one the most dominant performances in the sport’s history. His career after that point took a nose dive as he then lost back-to-back fights against T.J Dillashaw and never fully recovered as he went 3-5 after that point including a move down to flyweight where he was finished in the first round by Kai Kara-France.
Fans will see a classic wrestler versus striker exchange with this fight, and with the status and skill of the two, it leans in favor of Figueiredo’s style of fighting. Being the older fighter at 36, Figueiredo out-grapples Garbrandt in almost any exchange the two have. Add in the fact that Garbrandt has not a single submission victory in his career, and there is a tough battle for him if the fight goes to the ground. Figueiredo even outreaches Garbrandt in arm’s reach. He may not have the knockout power he once had, but he can definitely still keep up on his feet. If Figueiredo can take the fight to his specialty of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), then the fight should finish early.
Prediction: Figueiredo by Submission
Calvin Kattar (#8) VS Aljamin Sterling (#2)
Another fighter moves up in weight class, this time with former bantamweight champion Sterling going up to featherweight (145 lbs.) to face veteran Kattar in a prelims matchup.
Sterling, was, of course, a four-time time champion, boasting a 23-4 record up until his loss of his belt to current champion Sean O’Malley via TKO. Despite his loss, however, his record is nothing to scoff at: however, he is a fighter surrounded by controversy and generally disliked as champion. There is no denying, though, that he is down-right lethal on his feet and even more on the ground as the majority of his finishes come from his submission game.
His opponent is contender Katter, who had a streaky record in his last couple of fights, managing to maintain a decent ranking, but never really beating any top-ranked opponents acting as the line between good and great fighters in the division. He is currently 2-3 in his last five fights and comes of losses from Josh Emmett and Arnold Allen – his last fight was in October of 2022. Katter stands in a difficult position, as his name seems to be completely overshadowed by his opponent’s status. Katter’s specialty of striking heavy may be a concern if the fight heads to the floor.
Between skill and talent, fans might point towards Sterling for the win, as his Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling just completely outclasses Kattar on the ground, but there is also the physical aspect one has to take into consideration. Kattar has a 4-inch height advantage compared to Sterling. Considering his last fight was against O’Malley, who has a taller and more striking level approach in MMA, Sterling has to be careful when approaching Kattar: one good hit in the jaw means a TKO loss.
Regardless of the concern, Sterling will learn from his previous loss and have control of the fight for most of the ground – and possibly even take said control to a submission victory. But, considering the fight is only three rounds, time will end before Sterling gets that chance.
Prediction: Aljamin Sterling Via Decision
Jiří Procházka (#2) vs Aleksandar Rakic (#5)
Moving up to the light heavyweight division (205 lbs.), Czechian Procházka faces Serbian Rakic in the last prelim fight of the event.
Procházka, of course, is known for being the previous champion in a small title stint when he submitted Glover Teixeria back in 2022. Procházka is a household name so far, considering he came into the organization rather late in 2020 and within two impervious knockouts managed to snag the title, but now he returns to the octagon after a TKO loss to current lightweight champion Alex Pereira.
His opponent is another European, Rakic, who has not seen much activity since his TKO loss to Jan Blachowicz almost two years ago. Add in the fact that Rakic had ACL surgery after his knee was injured in the fight, and one can understand the injury limited his training and meant a lot of time off.
Looking in from the outside, this fight just seems to be heavily one-sided both in fighters’ history and skill points. Dominance is expected, all in the hands of the Czechian Procházka, and for good reason. He has been more active in recent times: has beaten and gained championship status with impressive knockouts, and only lost it to the current champion.
Meanwhile, Rakic fully recovered from his injuries, but has not triumphed over many opponents in the cage.
Regardless of resume, just watching both fighters, Procházka just seems like the better overall fighter. He has a better takedown defense and submissions game if the fight heads to the ground, and is likely to win. This fight will not reach the distance as the two knockout artists stand between each other.
Prediction: Jiří Procházka by TKO/KO
Charles Oliveira (#1) VS Arman Tsarukyan (#4)
Now comes what seems to be such a close fight for many UFC fans, featuring the biggest rising star, Tsarukyan, and another former UFC champion, Oliveria. Both these fighters come into the octogen with such high expectations that it seems that this fight may determine who gets the chance for a title fight for the lightweight (155 lbs.) division. A win for either of these fighters could change their careers drastically.
As for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artist, Oliveria, his title reign as champion was one the best, defeating Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Michael Chandler until his submission loss to Islam Makhachev. He bounced back with a first round TKO win against Beneil Darisuh, so a win over Tsarukyan would all but guarantee a rematch for the title he lost. Tsarukyan, however, is coming off pretty strong with a first-round KO over Beneil Darisuh, and at only 27, the Georgian fighter has displayed a wide variety of MMA styles.
Oliveria is such a dominant fighter. Coming from the favelas of São Paulo, this man entered the UFC at only 20 years old back in August 2010; early into his career, he was considered “streaky”, winning some fights, then losing some. It was not until 2018 that audiences saw a massive leap in his performance. He went on to not only become the lightweight champion in the division, but to also rack up an 11-fight win streak, with 10 of those wins coming from either submission or knockouts.
What makes this man scary is how when Oliveria gets into the octogen, it is almost guaranteed the fight will end early, as he carries possibly the best Jiu-Jitsu in the UFC. At the age of 34, he leads the UFC with 20 finishes, 16 of those coming from submissions alone, and his career is nowhere near done. He has so much experience in the octogen, especially in what seems to be the most talented and hardest division in the UFC; though a loss to Islam Makhachev may have cost his championship status, his talent is still championship-worthy.
Tsarukyan is a perfect match though, and the fight between the two is a strong contender for fight of the year. The Armenian may not have such an impressive resume compared to the Brazilian, but in those fights, it has been nothing but pure dominance. Tsarukyan has five wins in his last six fights, four of those being knockouts. He is pretty small for his weight division, only standing at 5’7, but is as strong as an ox and more than makes up for any height differential with his wrestling, taking down his opponents on average, 3.4 times, and avoiding going the ground with a 75% defense.
Tsarukyan does not have a submission victory in the UFC, but he overwhelms his opponents with his wrestling until he can find a knockout opening. He is well-rounded, which makes the matchup against Oliveria a fight worth watching.
While fans may have concerns following Oliveria’s previous loss, it is essential to remember he was up against one of the best grapplers in the UFC. Oliveria’s ability to take hits to the chin and still stand is impressive; his grabbling will overwhelm Tsarukyan, and all it takes is one opening for a submission to take place.
Prediction: Charles Oliveria by Submission
Justin Gaethje (#2) VS Max Holloway (#2)
The fight everyone is excited about – more than the main event for UFC 300 – is the matchup between Max “Blessed” Holloway and Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje. Both fighters are considered knock-out artists with strike-heavy approachs, so a stand-up slugfest between the two is what fans are most excited for.
This matchup sees Holloway moving up a weight class once again, as he mainly competes below at featherweight (145 lbs.); nonetheless, he has experience in the lightweight division, where he will be competing this time. Gaethje, on the other hand, is coming off one of the best knockouts in recent memories over Dustin Poirer, and has full momentum heading into the bout.
Holloway is another case of a young star earning – then losing – his belt; he has been trying to recapture his glory ever since. He entered as the youngest UFC fighter ever at the age of 20 in 2012, and by 2017, he became the undisputed champion against featherweight legend Jose Aldo at the age of 26.
He then racked up a 13-fight win streak in the division (tied for third as the longest win streak in the UFC), and carried a five-fight win streak while defending his featherweight belt – up until his title lost to Alexander Volkanovski. He had three opportunities against the Australian, and fell short all three times. Regardless of resume and status in each fight Holloway has had, his wins have all been nothing but knockouts. Carrying a 11-0 TKO/KO record, and never being knocked out himself, Holloway maintains such strong fundamentals in boxing and the record for most significant strikes, landing at 3197 beating second place by over 1000+ hits. In his fight with Katter, Hollloway landed 578 hits in an absolute display of dominance.
Opposite of Holloway comes another opponent who is just as intimidating: Gaethje. Another prolific striker in the division, Gaethje maintains 60% striking accuracy, and 7.35 significant strikes landed per minute. The fact that 63% of his strikes land on the head makes him a fighter with plenty of knockout ability, and in the fact that he carries a 26-4 record, with 20 of those ending in TKO/KO, just means the fight will end early. Despite losing both his chance for UFC gold against in title fights against Oliveria and Khabib Nurmagomedov, Gaethje has already displayed his power in striking knockout fighters such as Donald Cerrone, Tony Ferguson, and Poirer. Although his wrestling and grabbling exchanges are his weak point, in this match up, those weaknesses do not cost him much, as he maintains his power in strikes.
However, what seems to be a deciding factor in this match is the fact that this fight will be five-round fight, meaning longer distance. It is most likely the fight will end early with a knockout; with Holloway’s shear volume and overwhelming jabs, he is likely to (easily) overwhelm Gaethje in the later rounds. Add in the fact that Holloway’s last 13 fights have only been five-round fights, and it simply seems Holloway is more prepared heading in.
Prediction: Max Holloway by Unanimous Decision
Zhang Weili (Champion) vs Yan Xiaonan
Now comes one of two title fights of the night.
The first is the women’s strawweight (115 lbs.) bout of Weili and Xiaonan. Both hail from China: the two women are strikers with a heavy approach, so a standing fight is what will be the bulk for the five rounds. However, the two are in very unique paths along their careers.
Weili, of course, is the current strawweight champion of the division. Besides a back-to-back loses to Rose Namajunas that lost her belt, Weili bounced back a in a three-fight win streak, and has maintained her belt for two fights; she is currently in her second stint as the champion with dominate performances so far. Yet, she is not the only Chinese contender, as Xiaonan also carries similar level of striking, though she only has one fight that with five rounds to her name.
Looking at Zhang’s history, it seems she has the tools dominate this fight from the ground up ,and despite being more comfortable with her standing game, she has shown experience with ground work, carrying on average 2.29 takedowns, as well 8 submission victories in her 24-3 record. She also is coming off a display of prowess after beating Brazilian Amanda Lemos in a 25-minute one-sided fight in which Zhang landed 6 takedowns to the ground and 163 significant strikes.
What makes Zhang such a tough battle is how well she is versed; opponents cannot take her on the ground, but are forced to stand with one of the best strikers in the division.
Xiaonan also has a strike-heavy approach, but has not really dominated on feet. She carries momentum, though, coming from a first round knockout over Jessica Andrade. Still, Xiaonan has not really reached the level of dominance that Zhang has had. She stands as the 1# contender in her weight class, but her fights against mediocre competition have being questionable, to say the least. Add in the wrestling that is no where near on par with Zhang, and Xiaonan’s chances seem slim in this title bout.
Regardless, this China versus China showdown has every chance to be electric with both fighters emphasizing their different styles. With Zhang’s experience and fight IQ, however, she will understand that a wrestling-focused approach is necessary, and will stretch the fight to work out in her favor.
Prediction: Zhang Weili by TKO/KO
Alex Pereria (Champion) vs Jamahal Hill (#1)
Finally, the closing event to mark history in the sport with the light heavyweight between a double champion and a former champion.
The Brazilian kickboxer Pereria has already cemented himself in UFC history with the status as double champion, having won undisputed titles in both middleweight (185 lbs.) and light heavyweight categories – all in the span of two years in the UFC.
His opponent has been rising in the lightweight division, however. Hill previously carried out a brief stint as champion in his weight class against veteran Gloveria Teixeria, who happens to be Pereria’s coach currently. After the win, Hill was forced to vacant the belt due to a torn Achilles suffered during training.
Before injury, Hill was easily one of the strongest figures in UFC stardom, and carried a 12-1 record that included seven knockouts. He has a standing game which works best in the scenario facing Pereria, since the later has little grabbling ability, so a knockout is high possibility.
Hill keeps a aggressive approach with 7.31 significant strikes a minute, and over 50% accuracy in strikes. Hill’s strength comes with his pace, as he takes his time in adding aggression to fights, but slows down when he needs to, and that is what makes him dangerous in the sense that he recognizes the right times to approach.
Pereria, however, is the last person anyone would want to fight in this division. Not only has he achieved what many UFC fighters dream of in being a double champion in just two years, but he has some of the best counters and calf kicks ever seen in the sports history. Pereria’s history in kickboxing, where he was a two-time national champion, is one thing that he can use to wither Hill down, especially considering Pereria’s leg kicks.
Fans have seen this sort of match play out time and time again: the leg kicks limit mobility and strength, and in Hill’s case, might ruin his knockout power. Take plus one of the strongest right hooks and counter in all of UFC, and it just seems like another day in the office for the Brazilian.
