The UFC CEO, Dana White, raised the hype for UFC 300 after announcing its date in the latter part of December 2023. However, fans couldn’t help wondering about the stars who would feature inside the octagon at the historic event. Well, a look at the current scenario will reveal that the UFC 300 fight card mystery is slowly unveiling itself to the fans. Although there’s a lot more to come, several fights have already been announced for the milestone UFC event. Here are some of the confirmed bouts.
Zhang Weili vs Yan Xiaonan (UFC strawweight title fight)
The Zhang Weili vs Yan Xiaonan bout may be the most recently announced fight for the UFC 300 card. But it is certainly one of the biggest ones since it involves the UFC strawweight title. The UFC CEO took to his own Instagram to publicize this fixture a few hours back. The fact that it will be a first ever Chinese vs. Chinese clash is also expected to draw a lot of eyes to it.
Both Xiaonan and the current strawweight champ Weili possess a strike-heavy style of fighting. However, both are also equipped with formidable ground skills. Hence, most fans may agree with the UFC CEO that this fight does have the ingredients to be an absolutely “bada*s” one.
Charles Oliveira vs Arman Tsarukyan
The UFC had granted Charles ‘Dubronx’ Oliveira his desired rematch against the current UFC lightweight champ, Islam Makhachev. But his eyebrow injury forced him out of the bout. Hence, Dana White announced that he would have to win another fight to get a shot at his former rival. He also revealed that it would be Arman ‘Ahalkalakets’ Tsarukyan who will face Oliveira this time and confirmed the fight for UFC 300.
Both Tsarukyan and Oliveira have earned first-round KO victories over the noted Beneil ‘Benny’ Dariush in their previous bouts. So, most fans may view this one as a pretty justified fight for the next shot at the UFC lightweight gold. But the method by which both ‘Dubronx’ and Tsarukyan finished Dariush indicates that the fight is going to be an exhilarating one.
Jiri Prochazka vs Aleksandar Rakic
The noted former UFC light heavyweight champ, Jiri Prochazka had to endure a devastating defeat at UFC 295. The current light heavyweight champ, Alex Pereira, finished him via a TKO in the second round only. Well, this may have demoted Prochazka from the championship run a bit. Still, his entertaining fight skills have earned him another fight at the coveted UFC 300 card.
Prochazka will be locking horns against the #5 ranked UFC light heavyweight, Aleksandar Rakic, on 13 April. Both fighters are coming off losses in their previous fights. However, Prochazka has every chance of getting himself in the title run once again if he manages to win this one.
Aljamain Sterling vs Calvin Kattar
The story of Aljamain Sterling resembles Prochazka’s story a lot. ‘Funk Master’ tasted a second-round KO defeat at UFC 292 against Sean O’Malley which had him losing out on his UFC bantamweight gold as well. Still, his former champ status may have helped him secure a fight at the coveted UFC 300. Sterling will take on the #7 ranked UFC featherweight, Calvin Kattar, on the night of 13 April.
Much like Prochazka, a convincing victory over Kattar may also put ‘Funk Master’ back in the UFC bantamweight championship picture. Both fighters are coming off a loss in this case as well. It is expected to make the matchup even more enthralling since both fighters will try to prevent another loss with everything they have.
Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage
Several UFC fans have been critical of the noted UFC middleweight, Bo Nickal, despite putting up two superb performances. This is probably why the UFC authorities may have decided to give him another chance to prove himself at one of their grandest events. Nickal will lock horns against Cody Brundage on the night of 13 April 2024.
Both Nickal and Brundage stand a chance to make it into the UFC rankings if they manage to come out victorious. But the former may have to face the wrath of fans if he gets defeated. In all, it won’t be wrong to expect that this one is also going to be an exciting showdown.
However, there are several fights yet to be announced for the card. Hence, the fan speculations can’t be expected to stop even after these announcements. Dana White and Co. still have several enthralling options to put together in the card. It will be interesting to witness which combinations they choose for the coveted UFC 300 fight card.
