Following up on the historic UFC 300 card was an unenviable task for UFC 301. The UFC returned to Brazil missing stars like Alex Pereira, Charles Oliveira & Deiveson Figueiredo, who could have bolstered the card to another level. Despite this, UFC 301 was an enjoyable event with a variety of compelling & bizarre fights to discuss. I will cover seven takes away from the card.
#1 - Pantoja’s Indomitable Will & Erceg’s Round 5 Blunder
I was split on Erceg Pantoja going in; at a glance, I leaned towards Pantoja's experience, physicality, and grappling. However, upon examining Erceg's entire MMA career, I found it a much more intriguing matchup than #10 vs. the Champ would lead one to believe.
The fight was, as expected, a close-run affair through 25 minutes. Erceg had his moments of success on the feet, but it was by no means runaway success. While Pantoja had his expected success on the ground, he was made to work for it, and Erceg proved a well-schooled grappler.
The fight contained some interesting tactics that I think are worth highlighting:
Erceg's Elbow:
A key characteristic of Pantoja’s style is his relentless aggression, constantly marching forward. Stepping in with an elbow is a great counter to this forward pressure; elbows are slower than punches, but they are harder than the gloves. Not only on impact but also has the chance to cut the opponent, as was the case here. Erceg even followed this up with a clean left hook, but Pantoja is an immortal.
A recent example of this tactic employed was Cory Sandhagen vs Song Yadong; in that fight, the cut led to the finish but followed the same rationale. Elbows are useful, too, for punishing a durable opponent and evening exchanges with powerful fighters.
Pantoja's knees
Knees are one of the more underused strikes in MMA. I get the fear of the takedown, but there are many points, particularly in the transition between phases, where they can have a great impact.
Pantoja is great at using knees in his stand-up and clinch. Erceg uses a butterfly hook to get up and push Pantoja away. By throwing as Erceg gets up, he winds the Australian and steals back the initiative in the grappling. Tactics like this are wholly unique to MMA and often underutilised.
Pantoja's scrambling
The critical phase of the fight was Erceg’s decision to go for a takedown. Rather than focusing on the mistake of an inexperienced fighter, I would highlight Pantoja's clutch scrambling.
This was a hard fight, Pantoja’s instinct to roll, go for the leg and scramble up to top position was incredibly clutch, evidencing a true championship level. It is one thing for an opponent to make a mistake, but you have to, as an elite fighter, be in a position to punish them for said mistakes. I look forward to more scrambling in a potential future fight with Mokaev.
All future Flyweight Champions will fall under the shadow of the great Demetrious Johnson, but Pantoja is the only champion thus far who has brought a modicum of stability in the years preceding the Mouse’s departure. His indomitable will to win these fights is impressive & I am enjoying this new era at Flyweight. Erceg made a blunder here. I hope he can get another chance at gold in the future, but nothing should be taken for granted in this sport.
#2 - The King of Rio
José Aldo is one of the all-time great MMA fighters. His initial retirement after a dire fight with Merab Dvalishvili in 2022 was absolutely underwhelming for someone of his stature. The main question around his return was why?
Did the UFC need some star power for a thin Brazil card? Was he trying to get out of his contract to pursue a career in boxing? Or did he have the fire for competition reinvigorated? The answers to these questions still remain unclear, but what is clear is that even at 37 years old, Aldo is still the man.
In the aftermath of this fight, I saw some comments that this was a stylistic layup for Aldo. This is a kind of abstract thinking fans engage in, where MMA is no more than top trumps underselling the true difficulty of MMA. One of the most underrated aspects of a great fight is winning the fights you are supposed to win, especially at an advanced age like Aldo.
Aldo really shone in this contest, not the destroyer of older but an incredibly well-schooled fighter all the better for years of training and still ahead of the game in many ways. Negating the famed leg kicks of Martinez, pivoting out of exchanges to a superior angle, throwing combinations to the body, all of the classic Aldo skills.
My highlight of the fight was Aldo hitting a takedown at the end of the fight.
The finish was there for the taking, with Martinez dazed, but it was a pure veteran move to secure a fight he was totally in control of. It is an aspect of his game that he has overlooked. I would really enjoy seeing him grapple at one of these fight-pass events in the future.
The UFC is a promotion without any semblance of pageantry, but I was grateful Aldo took the initiative and crowned himself. He more than deserved the title of King, and the crowd in Rio treated him as such.
#3. Petrino the Idiot
The higher weight classes in men’s MMA feature some outright terrible fighters. Fighters whose careers are powered by athletic power without regard for studying the art of fighting. Often, this is enough when you can close distance and separate someone from consciousness in a matter of seconds.
It would make sense that young and powerful Vitor Petrino, in spite of his flaws, would have the horsepower and semblance of skill to blast through veteran Anthony Smith, who was coming off a KO loss. But Petrino found new depths.
I train BJJ at an MMA gym and am exposed to many powerhouses who aim to compete in amateur MMA. This mistake of persisting with a takedown with your head wrapped is one I could expect of them, not a professional fighter. Petrino’s defence is the pressure of the moment, which is very real, but it speaks to an untrained mentality for me.
#4 Shogun send his regards
At UFC 283 in 2023, Ihor Potieria faced off with Brazilian MMA legend Maurício Shogun Rua. It was a tough spot for the Ukrainians; Shogun wanted a fight, but his abilities had long passed. When he inevitably TKOed Shogun, he did a now infamous emote after the finish. This was meant to signify respect, but the effect was the opposite. Since then, I and many others have held a grudge against the Duelist.
I can safely say that after many stoppage losses and this embarrassment in front of Shogun himself, the vendetta can be considered over. It could very well be the most ridiculous sequence of the year: dropped to the mat, backflipped on, and choked unconscious — only in MMA.
#5 Southpaw slaughters Scot
As a fan of European MMA and its fighters, Paul ‘BearJew’ Craig's career has been remarkable. His BJJ alone has carried him to wins over Jamahal Hill and Magomed Ankalaev and relevance in the UFC. That praise aside, I have never favoured his move down to middleweight; more than anything, it revealed the true sparsity of his MMA game. Caio Borralho is a competent, well-rounded fighter, and that is kryptonite for Craig’s linear approach to the game.
He did not look overly impressive here, but he understood the assignment and acted accordingly, taking full advantage of the open stance matchup. The southpaw's right hook over the lead shoulder is a deadly weapon, and Craig has no answer for the lancing left straights. It was a brutal KO, though it does not alter my estimation of Caio. I think this matchup allowed him to dominate, and it did as such.
#6 Brito’s March to contention
After losing his first UFC fight vs. Bill Algeo in 2022, Joanderson Brito has amassed a five-fight win streak and looks set to make a charge at the top 15. He is a brute of a fighter who imposes his immense physicality on his opponent. The use of leg kicks here led to the finish of Jack Shore and served as an effective pressuring tool.
If I am being critical of Brito, I think he spent too much time in the clinch with Shore and should have sought separation. Still, he advances up the division, and I look forward to his next fight, hopefully, a Diego Lopes Rematch.
#7 High-level lightweight fight
This was the sleeper fight of the card for me and many others.
Elves Brener is a consummate underdog, defeating Zubaira Tukhugov and Guram Kutateladze against the odds. On the other hand Myktybek Orolbai is a fearsome prospect with a phenomenal grappling game.
Orolbai had his success grappling, but his stand-up really came through here. I feel with a bit more experience, he would have been able to secure a finish. Brener is a fighter more than any other you cannot afford to let hang around.
Brenner was nearly TKOed from the mount in this very round. To pull this off showed not only great skill but elite doggedness. It was not to be his night vs. a fighter in Orolbai, who I am sure will ascend the division, but he proved that he can be a problem for any fighter who cannot put him away.
This fight took place outside the rankings, which speaks to the depth at 155.
Conclusion
301 was a fun card, and I thought I would use some GIFs to tell the story. I missed writing about 300, but given its historical importance, I will do something in the future.
