My top three performers
Some events look good on paper but never fulfil the hype, expectations and promises. UFC300 was one of the most stacked and highly anticipated cards in the UFC’s 30-year history. Following the tradition of UFC100 and UFC200, this event attempted to surpass those previous landmark events with a card for the ages.
Full of exciting-looking fights, from the early preliminaries to the BMF title fight, the women’s bantamweight title fight in the co-main event and the light heavyweight title fight in the main event.
UFC300 did not disappoint its fans and turned out to be one of the best events the UFC have produced.
Top Performer: Max Holloway
One of my all-time favourite UFC fighters, it is remarkable to think that in his 29-fight UFC career spanning 12 years, he has never been stopped or even knocked down.
What made this performance so great is that he was moving up to lightweight to face Justin Gaethje, and his last fight at lightweight was an underwhelming performance against Dustin Poirier in 2019. However, Holloway made the necessary adjustments and bossed the fight, outboxing Gaethje, standing with him and even outpowering and outmuscling him.
To top it off, while comfortably winning the fight. Holloway did his trademark point to canvas, indicating to slug it out in the last 10 seconds to produce a devastating face-plant knockout.
With one second to go, it is the latest knockout in UFC history, thoroughly deserving his $600 fight of the night and performance of the night bonuses.
Top Performer 2: Alex Pereira
In just twelve MMA fights, Pereira has won both the middleweight and light heavyweight UFC titles.
Since UFC300, he has now successfully defended his light heavyweight title.
Although many predicted him to beat Jamahal Hill, very few predicted him to do it in such a dominating fashion in the first round.
However, I believed that Hill was not yet ready after returning from a 15-month hiatus due to an Achilles injury that caused him to vacate the light heavyweight title.
But you cannot fault the way Pereira made light work of Hill. Not to mention the smooth sequence in which he finished the fight.
From the low blow to stopping the ref from intervening to dropping Hill with the left hook and finishing the fight on the ground, was impressive. His hilarious celebration was just the icing on the cake.
Top Performer 3: Kayla Harrison
It was a tough decision, but after considering all factors such as opponent, experience, type of win, build up and pressure. The debuting Harrison is my third top performer for UFC300.
Although I felt Holm was a good opponent for Harrison, Holm is no slouch. However, Kayla did exactly what she was supposed to do against such an opponent. She looked strong and dominant while announcing herself to the women’s division in a big way.
Additionally, she did well to cut down to the bantamweight 135-pound limit. Something I thought could be a factor during the fight, but it had little to no effect.
Although it seemed Holm played into her hands, Harrison showcased her immense strength and superior wrestling ability to dominate Holm before easily submitting her in the second round without barely breaking a sweat.
Honourable Mentions
Jiri Prochazka received performance of the night for running through Alexsander Rakic on his quest for a rematch with Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title.
Diego Lopez made it three first-round knockouts in a row when he dispatched Sodiq Yusuff in under two minutes with a devastating left hook combo.
Arman Tsarukyan upset fan favourite Charles Oliveira with a split decision victory that showed grit, toughness, skill and determination after punching a fan during his walkout.
