Finally, UFC 300 fight week is upon us! The card is set to be the best-ever UFC card featuring plenty of huge names and multiple competitive, exciting match-ups. Headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between the champion, Alex Pereira and the former champion (who never lost the belt), Jamahal Hill, UFC 300 features two traditional title fights and one ‘fun’ title fight, with the BMF belt on the line.
We provide you with our best bets as well as giving you a pick for EVERY fight on the mega card!
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UFC 300 – Best Bets
Alex Pereira via KO/TKO/DQ: +110
The champion, Alex Pereira is finally fighting in his natural weight class at 205lbs and has the perfect dance partner in Hill to shine on the biggest stage. In his light heavyweight debut, he was unable to show his well-rounded, elite kickboxing game as his opponent on the night, Jiri Prochazka looked to nullify his game by wrestling. Simply put, Hill won’t do this. His UFC stats show that he has never even shot for a takedown across his eight UFC bouts.
We don’t expect him to completely change his style and he predicts that he will knock out the champion and leave UFC 300 as the champion. With that being said, he absorbs 3.35 strikes per minute, holds his lead hand very low and returns to action after a prolonged period of time out.
Pereira will be sharper, motivated and on the night will be simply better than Hill, leading to the knockout. AND STILL!
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Zhang Weili vs Yan Xiaonan Fight to Go the Distance: -105
The co-main event sees an all-Chinese strawweight title bout which we’re predicting will go the full five rounds. Zhang Weili will be looking to defend her belt for the second straight time after dominating Amanda Lemos last time out. Yan Xiaonan is featuring in her first title opportunity and will be highly motivated heading into the fight on good form with two straight wins.
Zhang Weili is extremely good at nullifying her opponent’s strengths by working her natural game. We spoke about how the evolution of her wrestling game has been massive in her evolution as a fighter and how she uses it to dominate her opponents. Against Amanda Lemos, the threat was the Brazilian’s power and the champion shut down that threat. by taking her down six times and racking up 16:07 control time. If she does this against Xiaonan, we could see a 25-minute domination.
Xiaonan has seen just two of her 10 UFC fights finish under the distance, a win and a loss via TKO. She could hold the power to hurt Magnum, however, the champion won’t allow her to utilise it. Her 70% takedown defence is impressive, however, when she has been taken down, it hasn’t ended well for her.
Expect a 25-minute fight, which could realistically turn into a war between two country-women who both want to leave Vegas with the belt.
Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage to go under 1.5 rounds: -270
For Bo Nickal, the Cody Brundage fight is certainly a step up in competition. Last time out against Val Woodburn, Nickal was dominant and finished his opponent in a little over 30 seconds. His debut saw him lean on his elite-level wrestling and eventually tap Jamie Pickett in 2:54. Both of his contender series fights didn’t go over 1:10. All of these things tell us one thing, Nickal likes to get in and out of there quickly and recognises that he isn’t paid for overtime.
Only one of Brundage’s last six fights has gone over 1.5 total rounds, his loss to Sedriques Dumas via decision. Similar to that of Nickal, Brundage likes to get in and out quickly. Will the moment get to him? Nickal was born for the big leagues, is Brundage? None of his wins have featured on a main card and only one of his fights have featured on a PPV card. If his nerves get the better of him, it could be over well within the 1.5 we’re predicting, so it seems like a safe bet.
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Kayla Harrison Outright: -500
This is a tough call and it may only be safe to bet on this particular line after the weigh-ins. The UFC debut of Kayla Harrison is long overdue but comes with plenty of questions, most importantly 1) Can she mix it with the best in the world? and 2) Will she even make the 136lbs limit?
📸 Welcome to the UFC! Judo Olympic legend and multi-time PFL champ 🇺🇸 Kayla Harrison in her first-ever UFC fighter portrait shots.
Catch her highly anticipated debut this Saturday on the #UFC300 prelims as she takes on #5 ranked former champion Holly Holm. 🥋🔥 #WMMA #UFC pic.twitter.com/SSGbkULsWE
— Women's MMA Rankings (@WMMARankings) April 10, 2024
With that being said, let’s assume that she is able to make weight. She could easily make this fight a little boring, use her superior size to close the distance, press her opponent, Holly Holm, up against the cage and waste down the clock. She likely has enough striking to close the distance against Holm and stay in a safe range for long enough to get into the clinch. If she’s able to get the fight to the floor, it’s her world.
Is she good enough to get the finish in this one? It’s unlikely. She hasn’t finished her last two opponents, two women who were a step up in competition from some of her previous opponents. With that being said, she can use elbows in the UFC, which could be bloody!
Rest of the Card
- Deiveson Figueiredo via Round 2 TKO
- Miller via Round 3 Submission
- Marina Rodriguez via Decision
- Jalin Turner Round 2 TKO
- Diego Lopes via Unanimous Decision
- Aljamain Sterling via Unanimous Decision
- Jirí Prochazka via Unanimous Decision
- Charles Oliviera Round 3 Submission
- Justin Gaethje Round 5 TKO
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