8 Positives & 3 Negatives From UFC 300: Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

On Saturday, the mixed martial arts leader returned for its latest pay-per-view event, UFC 300

After weeks of pain and suffering at the Apex (yes, I'm exaggerating, but it's been quite the slog leading up to this week, right?!) it was finally here. The card to end all cards. A night that promised to never be forgotten. History in the making. Other words that sound significant and dramatic.

UFC 300.

Despite the criticism surrounding the chosen main event, the lack of major stars like Conor McGregor, and the card placement (most of which I also indulged in), from 6 PM ET on April 13, my excitement levels could not have increased any further. 

At the milestone PPV, we saw three titles on the line (well, two proper and whatever we class the BMF belt as these days), with Alex Pereira putting the light heavyweight championship at stake against Jamahal Hill, strawewight queen Zhang Weili battling another Chinese standout in Yan Xiaonan, and Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway colliding in the "people's main event."

Joining those names on an all-you-can-eat buffet of prominent fighters and intriguing matchups were the likes of Charles Oliveira, Bo Nickal, Jiří Procházka, Aljamain Sterling, Kayla Harrison, Renato Moicano, Jéssica Andrade, Jim Miller, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Cody Garbrandt.

But did they all come together to form an entertaining night of fights worthy of the occasion (yes, yes they did)? Let's find out with all the positives and negatives from UFC 300.

Positive - Figgy!

If it was still in doubt following his divisional debut last December, there can absolutely be no argument against Deiveson Figueiredo being a full-fledged contender at 135 pounds.

When he first ascended to the throne down at flyweight, "Deus Da Guerra" was among the scariest men in the UFC. Remember how he brutalized Joseph Benavidez not once but twice? How about his rapid submission of Alex Perez? He was the man. 

While he enjoyed a brief second rule in the division, we didn't see the same Figueiredo that we did in 2020. But there was a sighting of him at UFC 300...

To advance his ambitions of two-weight glory, the Brazilian was tasked with dispatching a former champion in Cody Garbrandt. In a tentative first round, "No Love" threatened to put his quick and explosive best on full display.

In the second frame, though, "Deus Da Guerra" shut that down emphatically, taking "No Love" down and completely dominating him on the mat. Garbrandt was able to survive an initial arm-triangle choke, but when Figueiredo latched onto his back during a scramble, the curtains closed with a rear-naked choke.

From his composure on the feet to his control and submission prowess on the ground, Figueiredo's performance on Saturday night was scarily good. And that iteration of the flyweight great mixing it up with those toward the top of the bantamweight ladder?

Yes. Please.

Positive - WAR

With the combination of thrilling matchups, always exciting fighters, and handsome $300,000 bonuses, it always seemed likely that we'd be treated to a number of wars at UFC 300.

On paper, it seemed that we could get the first instantly with Figueiredo vs. Garbrandt. We instead got a standout finish early on, but we weren't left waiting long for the kind of striking barnburner many had anticipated.

Delivering it on the early prelims were Jim Miller and Bobby Green, who battled hard across three memorable rounds. Plenty of eyes were on this contest owing to the storyline for Miller, who was competing his hat-trick of centenary appearances in the UFC.

The record holder for Octagon outings and wins justified his inclusion on the card by fighting through blood, bruises, and probably some bone breaks to play his part in a thrilling scrap.

He may have fallen on the wrong side of some lopsided scorecards, but "A-10" put in a performance defined by grit and toughness that will only add to the positive reflection fans and fellow fighters give on his career down the line.

Also, it was somewhat of a relief to see Green enjoy a better night than he endured last December in Austin, where perennial bad referee Kerry Hatley threatened to leave him seriously damaged with an atrociously late stoppage.

"King" may not have been the fighter fans were hoping to see have his hand raised on fight night, but given his style and devastating setback last time out, he wasn't a bad victor.

Negative - Oh, Turner...

Oh, Jalin. Jalin, Jalin, Jalin.

Of all the cards to fumble a finish on, UFC 300 is perhaps the worst imaginable.

In his fight against Renato Moicano, Jalin Turner appeared to have things all but wrapped up. But when he dropped the Brazilian with a brutal straight left, rather than following up to secure the stoppage, he saw the opportunity for a highlight.

But instead of a Mark Hunt-esque walk-off knockout, we got more like what Sean O'Malley did more than once opposite Thomas Almeida back at UFC 260 in 2021 — only without the eventual finish.

While "Sugar" closed the show on Almeida after fluffing a couple of KOs, "The Tarantula" ended up with egg on his face when he was taken down and ground-and-pounded to a stoppage loss himself by Moicano.

Why is this a negative? Because a highly talented contender missed the chance to increase his stock with another brutal finish. Instead, Turner was left with a moment he'll want to forget, and it's hard to say that Moicano cemented himself as a future title contender either given the circumstances. 

Positive - Stock Successfully Increased

As the Australians would say — Diego Lopes, you little ripper!

When Lopes accepted the short-notice call to face the undefeated Movsar Evloev at UFC 288 last May, nobody would have predicted what was to follow. That sentence applies to both his valiant effort in that specific bout and his subsequent triumphs inside the Octagon.

Since falling short on the scorecards to Evloev, Lopes has recorded three straight first-round finishes. Following an emphatic submission win over Gavin Tucker, the Brazilian brutally knocked out Pat Sabatini to earn a shot at the rankings on Saturday night.

And in terms of a statement-making entry into the top 15, Lopes couldn't have done much more...

It took less than 90 seconds for the 29-year-old to close out proceedings against the highly touted Sodiq Yusuff. After quickly dropping him, Lopes was relentless in his pursuit of the finish, eventually sending "Super" back to the canvas with a vicious uppercut.

Lopes has gone from being relatively unknown to one of the most entertaining fighters competing on MMA's biggest stage. And his addition to the group of contenders at 145 pounds is only a positive for the division.

Mouth-watering matchups await.

Positive - Statement.

Aside from the oddballs who see anything outside of the UFC as illegitimate, I'm not sure Kayla Harrison's ability to compete in MMA's premier promotion was ever in doubt.

But to go out and utterly dominate a former champion in Holly Holm on debut? You'd do well to find someone who predicted that.

Harrison essentially did what many expected another former judoka in Ronda Rousey to do back in 2015, dragging "The Preacher's Daughter" to the ground and beating her up en route to a submission.

While the two-time Olympic gold medalist was denied the chance to let her razor-sharp elbows fly under the PFL banner, we saw what she's capable of doing with them in her sole outing in Invicta FC.  And she utilized them throughout a dominant opening round from top position at UFC 300.

Aside from the odd matchup and fight, the women's bantamweight division has been lackluster for a while now. Harrison brings an entirely new skillset and aura to the weight class, and the UFC would be wise to put her in competition for the gold sooner rather than later.

They'd also be wise to give her former American Top Team training partner Amanda Nunes a call...

Negative - A Dip In Action

Not to be in line with the fools who boo any bit of grappling, but that wasn't very UFC 300 of you Aljamain Sterling and Calvin Kattar?!

On any other night, I'm not sure this would go down as a negative. But Sterling and Kattar's featherweight clash marked one of few moments of downtime when it comes to action inside T-Mobile Arena.

In his divisional debut, "Funk Master" looked great. Despite the larger opposition, the former bantamweight champ went to work with the kind of offense that saw him rise to the throne and enjoy a record-breaking reign at 135 pounds.

Was it exciting? Far from it. Was it impressive? Absolutely. Sterling was so dominant that he limited Kattar to single-digit stats and made "The Boston Finisher" look like a fish out of water in the cage.

You've gotta respect a fighter who says 'screw your $300K bonuses' and wins their way...

Positive - King Of Europe

UFC 300 taught us many things, one of which is that Jiří Procházka remains among the most unique, bizarre, and exciting fighters in the sport.

After falling short of a second light heavyweight reign in his comeback from injury last November, it felt like the former champion had something to prove on Saturday night. And that was the case not just in regard to his divisional standing but also his fighting mentality, which had been mocked and questioned in the lead-up by opponent Aleksandar Rakić.

Through the majority of the first round, it looked like the Austrian was on track to back up his comments. In his first fight in almost two years, "Rocket" initially looked sensational, working from his back foot to land at will on Procházka. But when he was caught clean for the first time shortly before the horn, the difference in power and impact was clear.

And that fact was hammered home in round two, when the former champ rocked Rakić with a clean straight right. Smelling blood, "BJP" quickly swarmed with an onslaught of punches and forced the referee intervention for a TKO stoppage. 

The best base for MMA? Roaming the streets in the middle of the night and standing outside the arena that will stage your fight the following day...

With continental glory achieved at UFC 300, could a second dose of global dominion await Procházka down the line?

Positive - As Advertised 

Well, Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan was quite the rollercoaster.

From a crowd punch to the tightest guillotine escape since Alexander Volkanovski's effort against Brian Ortega to some brutal ground-and-pound, the first of two crucial lightweight fights on the UFC 300 main card was memorable, to say the least.

Tsarukyan's night started with a scuffle in the crowd, as he launched a punch at one fan on the floor area (lawsuit inbound). Some expressed concern over whether such an incident showed a lapse in focus for the Russian-Armenian, and it looked like that was about to be evidenced in a submission loss when Oliveira latched onto his neck.

Somehow, someway, "Akhalkalakets" worked his way out of the tight submission attempt. And he soon went to work, landing his own offense to close out the opening round. He ultimately didn't look back, putting on strong display en route to victory on the scorecards — although another threatening submission provided a late scare.

The rising contender's potential and talent has long been known. But while he notched a huge win over Beneil Dariush last year, he still entered 2024 lacking the name of a star and former champ like "Do Bronx" on his record

Consider that omission rectified at UFC 300, and consider a shot at gold being in Tsarukyan's future.

Positive - Beyond Description 

Some moments are immediately etched in history. Max Holloway's last-second knockout at UFC 300 is one such moment.

Anybody else get goosebumps whenever they think of the last 10 seconds in the BMF title fight on Saturday night? "Blessed" was one of those leading the charge for increased bonuses at the milestone event, and it's easy to see why. He knew that what he delivered would be worthy of more than one.

Owing to his unsuccessful UFC lightweight debut in 2019 and Gaethje's recent form, Holloway was being widely counted out ahead of the April 13 card. But the Hawaiian backed up everything he said about being better prepared for the heavier weight class, beating "The Highlight" up across the best part of five rounds.

Entering the final round, victory on the scorecards was certain. However, instead of letting time tick away, Holloway brought out his patented stand and bang call. Gaethje obliged, and that turned out to be a decision that sent him to snoozeville.

With a second remaining on the clock, Holloway landed the KO shot he'd been threatening for 24 minutes and 58 seconds. Gaethje was left face-planting the canvas and we were left reflecting on one of the greatest moments in UFC history.

An event like UFC 300 promised to deliver moments like no other. But what Holloway accomplished was so special that it was still able to defy any and all expectation.

This sport, man.

Negative - Why Do Rules Exist?

Commissions may as well abandon the ban on fence-grabbing at this point, because the referees clearly have.

One of the most frequent negatives in this editorial surrounds the inability of many officials when it comes to enforcing the rules, be it in regard to eye pokes, low blows, or fence grabs.