We knew heading into UFC 300 that each combat mattered. And after an evening of watching among the finest combined martial artists on the planet throw down, that also rings true. From flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo choking out former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt within the curtain-jerker to Alex Pereira placing Jamahal Hill to sleep to retain the sunshine heavyweight title in the principle occasion, it was actually an evening to recollect.
And wait, there’s extra.
Former featherweight champion Max Holloway moved as much as 155 kilos to face reigning BMF champion Justin Gaethje and supplied followers in attendance and people viewing stay all over the world with an unforgettable KO within the last second of their five-round combat.
It was an evening of knockouts, submissions and the very best going through the very best. However it is going to be remembered most for Holloway cementing himself because the BMF of BMFs. Here is how the memorable card, with 13 former or present champions competing, unfolded:
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UFC 300 major card outcomes, highlights
• Mild 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 gentle heavyweight champion gained the principle occasion of the extremely anticipated card with a first-round knockout of former champion Jamahal Hill. The tone of all the combat was intense, with the fighters staring one another down as the primary bell arrived. That wound up being important when Hill hit Pereira with a low blow. Referee Herb Dean moved in to pause the combat, however Pereira waved him away whereas preserving all eyes on Hill. He then leveled the challenger with a vicious left uppercut.
• Ladies’s strawweight championship: Zhang Weili def. Yan Xiaonan by unanimous resolution (49-45, 49-45, 49-45):
In a rollercoaster experience of a five-rounder, Zhang Weili was capable of maintain off Yan Xiaonan’s upset bid. Zhang was dominant within the first two rounds, having choked Yan to close submission on the closing seconds of the primary and controlling her for almost all of the second. However Yan was capable of bounce again within the third with the champ seemingly working out of fuel. Yan’s momentum shift got here to an finish within the fourth spherical when Zhang was capable of get again management. The fifth spherical performed out largely the identical and Zhang was capable of retain the title by way of unanimous resolution.
• Light-weight: Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje by KO (punch) at 4:59 of R5:
Max Holloway is an authorized BMF. After which some. The previous UFC featherweight champion defeated fan favourite Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 on Saturday, profitable the promotion’s ceremonial “BMF” belt within the wildest trend potential. Seconds from a transparent unanimous resolution win, Holloway opted to go full throttle with Gaethje in the midst of the Octagon. The outcome was not simply the clear Knockout of the Yr, however maybe the wildest knockout within the 31-year historical past of the UFC.
• Light-weight: Arman Tsarukyan def. Charles Oliveira by break up resolution (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Arman Tsarukyan prevails on the judges’ scorecards and notches the largest win of his profession in opposition to the previous champ. Oliveira began and ended the combat with two prime alternatives to choke out the rising star, however Tsarukyan survived each and handily beat him in each important strikes and floor management time. That might open the door for one more shot at light-weight champion Islam Makhachev for Tsarukyan, who made his UFC debut in opposition to Makhachev in April 2019 and misplaced a detailed resolution.
• Middleweight: Bo Nickal def. Cody Brundage by way of submission (rear bare choke) at 3:38 of R2:
Bo Nickal as soon as once more displayed his unimaginable wrestling means in a one-sided efficiency in opposition to Cody Brundage, who was clearly outclassed within the grappling exchanges. Brundage was capable of survive into the second spherical, however that was extra a testomony to his toughness than Nickal simply desirous to get extra Octagon time after ending all of his earlier opponents within the first spherical. For his subsequent opponent, Nickal talked about Anthony Hernandez and Roman Kopylov in his post-fight interview.
UFC 300 prelims outcomes, highlights
• Mild heavyweight: Jiří Procházka def. Aleksandar Rakic by TKO at 3:17 of R2:
Jiří Procházka threw warning to the wind in opposition to Aleksandar Rakic and his legs and face paid the value. However ultimately it was Procházka who gained the combat after he caught Rakic with a heavy proper hand within the second spherical and pounced on him. Rakic, for his half, was holding his personal for some time and was capable of land a number of beautiful counter pictures earlier than the large proper hand put him on the bottom. With Prochazka on prime of him, referee Herb Dean allowed Procházka to dole out some heavy punishment earlier than lastly waving off the combat.
• Featherweight: Aljamain Sterling def. Calvin Kattar by unanimous resolution (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Aljamain Sterling jumped to featherweight after dropping his bantamweight title and did what he does finest: throw his opponent down and let him do nothing. He beat Calvin Kattar 90-13 in important strikes and earned a simple unanimous resolution win, however made few followers alongside the way in which. He acquired a combined response as the choice was introduced.
• Ladies’s bantamweight: Kayla Harrison def. Holly Holm by submission (rear bare choke) at 1:47 of R2:
From the opening 30 seconds, it was clear this combat wasn’t going to go Holly Holm’s manner. Grappling with an elite judoka twice within the first spherical was by no means going to go properly. Kayla Harrison submitted her within the second spherical of her UFC debut, having prevented taking a single hit. With the assertion win in her UFC debut, Harrison instructed Joe Rogan she’d be a UFC champion by the top of the yr.
• Featherweight: Diego Lopes def. Sodiq Yusuff by TKO (strikes) at 1:29 of R1:
Diego Lopes wasted no time placing his title within the hat for a Efficiency of the Night time bonus after a first-round TKO. Lopes dropped Yusuff inside the first minute with a violent uppercut that dropped his opponent. Yusuff was capable of get well, solely to get dropped once more with one other uppercut. Lopes strikes to 23-6 and known as for Movsar Evloev for his subsequent bout.
UFC 300 early prelims outcomes, highlights
• Light-weight: Renato Moicano def. Jalin Turner by way of TKO (strikes) at 4:11 of R2:
Jalin Turner had completed the combat in opposition to Renato Moicano with a devastating walkoff knockout within the last 20 seconds of the primary spherical. Or so he thought. Turner landed a brutal left hand that despatched Moicano flying to the mat. Moicano, nonetheless, sprang again up and completed the spherical. Then, he got here again within the second spherical and acquired the early takedown and finally completed Turner by way of floor and pound strikes. It was an unimaginable comeback for Moicano after a horrible mistake by Turner.
• Ladies’s strawweight: Jessica Andrade def. Marina Rodriguez by break up resolution (29-28, 28-29, 29-28):
Not a lot pleasure within the first spherical as Jessica Andrade used her aggressiveness to keep up area. Marina Rodriguez seemed nice for a lot of the second spherical, showcasing mixtures and different strikes till Andrade did some harm within the last minute with a burst of quantity. Andrade seemed drained in the beginning of the third spherical, which was largely a kickboxing match, and he or she had considerably extra strikes and leg kicks than Rodriguez. It was sufficient to outpoint Rodriguez on two of the judges scorecards for the break up resolution victory.
• Light-weight: Bobby Inexperienced def. Jim Miller by unanimous resolution (30-27 30-25, 29-26):
Bobby Inexperienced caught a pair large pictures within the first spherical, however he fully dominated Jim Miller over the subsequent 10 minutes to seize a unanimous resolution win. Miller’s face and entrance torso have been fully lined in blood and his proper eye was swollen shut by the top. Inexperienced talked trash all through the combat and he greater than backed it up, then known as out “slimy, sugary little snake” Paddy Pimblett in his post-fight interview.
• Bantamweight: Deiveson Figueiredo def. Cody Garbrandt by submission (rear bare choke) at 4:02 of R2:
Deiveson Figueiredo gained his second combat at 135 kilos after being known as out by former champion Cody Garbrandt, who had by no means been submitted in his 19-fight profession till Saturday night time. Figueiredo took Garbrandt down early within the second spherical and confirmed some unimaginable grappling, however wasn’t capable of safe an arm triangle choke. After resetting, a rear bare choke acquired the job achieved for Figueiredo, who improves to 22-3-1.