Category: UFC 300

UFC 300: Fans had ‘unrealistic expecations’ says Jamahal Hill

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC 300, UFC News

UFC 300 is now nearly a fully booked fight card. The April 13th PPV event currently has 12 bouts listed, including an official main event between former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and current champ Alex Pereira. That fight, alongside Weili Zhang vs. Yan Xiaonan and Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway seems likely to guarantee fans get a thrilling night of action from the UFC.

However, that doesn’t mean everyone is entirely happy with the event. The UFC’s past attempts to pull out all the stops for their 100th and 200th PPV cards have left some fans feeling underwhelmed by a PPV headliner that lacks the kind of dynamic star power of a Conor McGregor, GSP, Jon Jones, or Ronda Rousey.

Jamahal Hill fires back at UFC 300 critics

Never one to ignore the discourse or step back in the face of criticism, Jamahal Hill had some words for fans that might be feeling somewhat shortchanged by his spot in the UFC 300 headliner. In a recent video released to his YouTube channel, ‘Sweet Dreams’ took umbrage with the idea that the upcoming card was anything less than a massive showcase of the promotion’s best talent.

“The reaction to this has been kind of a mix of things and there and whatnot,” Hill explained (transcript via MMA Fighting). “There’s been a lot of outrage, a lot of disappointment and things like that. To be honest, it’s crazy to me, because for the most part a lot of these people are the same people that have spent the better part of a year or however long calling me ‘cry baby.’

But it’s crazy to see how a card can be stacked—the main card literally has a former champion or champion in every single fight and some even facing former champions. In every single fight in the main card, each one of the prelims is worthy of being its own separate main event and people are crying. Like, let’s really be real. It’s really, really crying because you had unreal expectations for something.”

Hill did add that he felt Dana White might be in part to blame, for overselling his main event announcement, but he felt that was likely because the UFC boss really was working on something “that you people would feel is mind-blowing or otherworldly,” but couldn’t get it done.

“I think I saw one comment that said, ‘I was expecting Conor vs. Jesus Himself,’ Hill said. “At this point, now I’m convinced that wouldn’t have been enough. Y’all could have got Mario vs. King Kong, y’all could have got Wolverine vs. Iron Man, you could have gotten anything, Hulk vs. Superman, Spider-Man vs. Batman, you could have got any of this and you wouldn’t have been happy. So all I can say as far as the whole ‘this is a disappointment’ and it not being worthy of this spot and things like that is that’s crazy.”

Jamahal Hill reassures fans he’s healthy for the fight

A major point of concern about the UFC’s decision to go with Hill as the headliner has to come from the severity of the injury that took Hill off his spot as king of the mountain in the first place. Not long after winning UFC gold over Glover Teixeira, Hill ruptured his Achilles tendon in a UFC-organized pick-up basketball game during International Fight Week.

Even Dana White seemed somewhat unsure if Hill was already entirely healthy, telling fans after UFC 298 that he didn’t know how Hill would respond to the injury.

“I don’t know.” White told reporters when asked about Hill’s recovery. “I’m friends with Kelsey Plum from the WNBA — she had the same injury. She came back [from an Achilles tear] and won MVP, a national title. [Hill] has been going to [UFC’s Performance Institute]. She recovered from that injury at [UFC’s Performance Institute]. So, hopefully he’s good.”

As for Hill himself? He says he’s already been sparring and drilling and doesn’t expect to have any problems with his preparations for Pereira.

“Another one of the big questions has been my health, ‘he’s rushing back’ and things like that,” Hill said. “No, I’m not rushing back. I’ve been training, I’ve been sparring, I’ve been at a full go now for a few weeks now. There’s been no setbacks, nothing hindering anything. When I’m saying full go I mean this is me doing everything full speed, full-on like I would when I normally train, so there’s no concerns.

“My Achilles is not an issue, it’s not a problem at all. I’m just ready to go.”

UFC 300: Khamzat Chimaev shuts down fight rumors

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC 300, UFC News

We recently got a peak behind the curtain of the UFC’s fight booking apparatus and their struggles to find a headlining fight for the centennial UFC 300 PPV card this coming April. It’s a night that Dana White has promised will wow fans from start to finish with electric matchmaking from the opening prelim all the way to the main evnet.

At the moment, the world’s largest MMA promotion has announced 11 bouts for the card, including a women’s strawweight title fight between Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan and a BMF title fight between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway. But, as of yet, there’s been no word of an official headliner. Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall both announced that they had been asked to take the spot, but Jones declined the offer and Aspinall says Stipe Miocic turned down an opportunity to take him on.

Khamzat Chimaev says no to UFC 300

Following those revelations, MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani threw a little grist into the rumor mill. According to conversations he’d had with various industry insiders, the UFC was working to book any one of four potential fights: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards, Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad, Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus du Plessis, or Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya.

If that was enough to get fans hyped once again, it didn’t take long for another harsh dose of reality to kill the vibe. Shortly after Helwani’s report, Chimaev released a statement to MMA Uncensored; a resounding denial of any intention to fight on the April 13th card.

“I will fight everybody,” Chimaev explained (transcript via MMA Fighting). “Leon [Edwards], [Dricus] du Plessis, anyone, but not [during] Ramadan. I think Ramadan [is during] UFC 300.

“Maybe somebody in Saudi Arabia. I want to fight there. Not fighting in Ramadan anymore.”

Alongside the concerns over fighting too near Ramadan, it has to be noted that Chimaev has also recently been struggling to get a visa for travel to the US. Likely, in part, owing to his seemingly increasingly close relationship with Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.

“The thing is, Chimaev doesn’t have Swedish passport,” his coach Alan Nascimento explained back in October of last year. “He’s not a Swedish citizen. He never was. He has a Russian passport. With this situation going on, the war, it’s hard for anyone to travel around the world with a Russian passport. Especially for a Chechen.

“I won’t go into details, but anyone who knows the story and is following what’s going on in the world knows that everybody is trying to corner Russia with sanctions. He’s living that. That’s one of the reasons why he chose to leave Sweden. Like, ‘I fight for the country, I live there since I was a teenager and pay taxes, and I always apply for a citizenship, but never get it.’”

Chimaev training the Kadyrov children

Back in late 2022, around the same time as the mysterious disappearance (and reported death) of former UFC light heavyweight and noted Kadyrov inner circle member Abdul Kerim Edilov, Khamzat Chimaev began appearing in more social media featuring the Chechen dictator and his kids.

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

Chimaev attended UFC 280 with the family, and still regularly posts pictures of himself hanging out with Kadyrov’s sons both in and out of the gym. He dropped this post with Dustum Kadyrov just last week on Instagram.

Chimaev last fought on US soil back in September of 2022, taking a submission victory over Kevin Holland in a hastily rearranged fight card after ‘Borz’ missed the welterweight limit by nearly 10 pounds for a planned fight with Nate Diaz.

Since then, and despite repeatedly claiming that he’s been healthy, training, and ready for action, Chimaev has only fought once, against Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Given all that, it’s something of a shock that the UFC thought they could book him for UFC 300 at all, main event or no. For now it seems likely that Chimaev will have to limit his fights to international events, and the UFC’s desperate search for a massive main event battle will have to continue.

UFC 300 hitting desperate times

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC 300, UFC News

A couple of weeks ago, now, Dana White dropped in on social media for an impromptu fan Q&A. Alongside some chatter about Kayla Harrison’s recent signing and White’s belief that she would have no trouble making the bantamweight limit, the UFC CEO teased that a major announcement was on the horizon.

“You’ll get the main event when I’m ready to give you the main event,” White said, speaking of UFC 300. “I’ve been squeezing them out one by one. When I’m ready to give you the main event you’ll get it. You’re not ready yet. You can’t handle the main event.”

UFC wiffs on Super Bowl announcement

If Dana White was playing coy back in late January, it seemed like the stars were aligning for a major announcement this past Sunday at the Super Bowl. Word got out that he was scheduled to appear in a 30-second spot during the game, and fans couldn’t help but assume that the UFC 300 main event would drop then and there in front of millions of sports fans gathered to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers.

Instead all they got was a beer commercial. Another piece of Bud Light’s image rehab campaign, hoping to ride the coattails of the UFC’s increasing drive for conservative viewers.

Jon Jones reveals UFC booking woes

So what happened? Where’s the big fight? A couple pieces of information have dropped in the last few hours that reveal just where the UFC is in their attempts to find the right ‘major’ headliner what was expected to be one of the year’s biggest PPVs. Most notably, and despite his recent shoulder injury, the UFC tried to get Jon Jones to take on Tom Aspinall in a heavyweight title unification bout. Jones turned them down he revealed in a recent Submission Radio interview.

“I got a call from [UFC Chief Business Officer] Hunter Campbell, one of the head lawyers of the UFC, he said, ‘Jon, I know it’s only nine weeks away, but if there’s any chance you’re feeling up to it, it would be awesome news for the community that you’re coming back and headlining one of the biggest events ever,’” Jones said. “And, as honored as I am for the opportunity, I just don’t think I’ll be ready. I just don’t.

“So, I’m getting up there in age and I only have a few more events left, and I want to give those events my all and make sure that I come back 100 percent.”

What’s more, Tom Aspinall has since revealed that he was offered a fight against Stipe Miocic for the main event as well, but that Miocic declined the bout.

UFC hoping for Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards

The other tidbit about the UFC’s booking struggle comes from longtime MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani. On a recent episode of his long-running interview show, Helwani revealed that he had heard the UFC has four go-to options that they’re pursuing for the UFC headliner.

“My understanding is that there are four options,” Helwani stated. “Two-and-a-half of them are pretty understandable… and then there’s one that I think people will be like, ‘Oh, okay!?’… Obviously we know that Leon [Edwards] and Belal [Muhammad] was something that was discussed. But, it seems like they really don’t want that fight at 300 for whatever reason. I think that’s their last resort…

UFC 294: Avoiding US sanctions on Khamzat Chimaev, and censoring speech on Palestine

“[Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus du Plessis] is obviously something that’s been discussed, and been hinted at by both. And for the longest time I thought, ‘Okay, maybe this is the one—and I would think is the one that makes the most sense.’ I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being that, but again, also, the clock is ticking; DDP a little bit banged up after the Strickland fight…

“And then we get to the sort of left field, rabbit in the hat, if you will. Right now, I think, if the UFC had their way—if they could snap their fingers and make the biggest fight in their mind happen, and the fight that they’ve been working on happen, and have their say as to what is the main event of UFC 300—I think they would make Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev.

“I believe… that when Dana White is talking about the hurdles and the issues and the different things at play in terms of making this fight and how troublesome it has been? I believe that’s securing Khamzat’s ability to fight in the United States.”

Long-time Bloody Elbow readers know exactly why Chimaev won’t be able to fight in the US as Karim Zidan reported a while back.

“In December 2020, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued sanctions targeting Kadyrov and his Akhmat MMA fight club.

“According to the OFAC, the measures against Kadyrov and Akhmat MMA are broadly designed to prohibit “any contribution or provision of funds, goods or services by, to or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods or services from any such person.”

Helwani went on to add that the UFC might also be considering Chimaev vs. du Plessis and to make it clear that none of these are hard and fast plans—merely speculation based on conversations he’s had with people close to the situation. All of it seems pretty believable though. Chimaev is a fighter that the UFC has envisioned as a major star clearly for the last several years, but has been hampered both by injury woes and visa issues.

Unfortunately for fans, assuming the UFC can’t get Chimaev back stateside, and assuming that DDP vs. Adesanya isn’t about to happen (or it likely would already have been announced), it seems more and more probable that fans will end up with Edwards vs. Muhammad as the UFC 300 headliner. A well deserved title shot for the Roufusport talent, but hardly the kind of booking to light the MMA world on fire.

UFC 300: Justin Gaethje didn’t mean to fight Max Holloway

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC 300, UFC News

UFC 300 is still a work in process. As recently as this past Wednesday, January 24th, Dana White was on camera telling fans that the main event had not yet been set for the centennial PPV. There is one guaranteed action fight, however, that fans can already start getting excited about, with Justin Gaethje welcoming Max Holloway back to the lightweight division.

Holloway previously took a stab at 155 lbs back in 2019, when he fought and lost to Dustin Poirier for an interim lightweight title. A brutal war that had ‘Blessed’ looking notably out-gunned for power, the loss pushed the Hawaiian back to featherweight where he’s racked up five more wins and three more losses (with each loss coming to Alexander Volkanovski).

Justin Gaethje didn’t want to fight Max Holloway at UFC 300

It’s those losses that have left the 32-year-old Gracie Technics talent at something of a loose end. With no clear path back to title contention, fans have been left talking about potential superfights for Holloway with the likes of Aljamain Sterling, Henry Cejudo, or perhaps Charles Oliveira. Then Justin Gaethje came along and seemingly spoke this fight into existence.

“I kind of talked this into existence on accident,” Gaethje said in a recent interview (transcript via MMA Junkie). “I said, ‘I didn’t want to punch Max Holloway, but he’s also a guy that could fight for a BMF belt.’ That turns out into going to be having to punch Max Holloway. It’s the name of the game, and I am the best in the world at creating damage.”

Hopefully we avoid Gaethje/Cerrone vibes

This isn’t the first time Justin Gaethje has stepped into the UFC Octagon against an opponent he’d rather not face. Back in 2019, just a few months after Holloway’s fight with Poirier, the ‘Highlight’ took a fight with friend and sometimes training partner Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.

“That was my friend, I didn’t want to do that to him, I’ll be honest with you,” Gaethje told the crowd after knocking Cerrone out, noting his anger at the referee for not stopping the bout earlier.

In the years since that victory, Gaethje has gone 4-2, winning an interim title for his 2020 bout against Tony Ferguson, but losing unified title shots to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira. Most recently Gaethje avenged a 2018 loss to Dustin Poirier, knocking the ‘Diamond’ out with a head kick in the second round at UFC 291 last July. Stay tuned for more news and notes on the UFC 300 lineup as fight night approaches.

UFC 300: Cody Garbrandt gets his callout, set for fun clash vs. former champion

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC 300, UFC News

Cody Garbrandt got his groove back in 2023. The former bantamweight champion has had a rough go of things ever since beating Dominick Cruz for UFC gold at UFC 207. In the five years that followed, ‘No Love’ went just 1-5 with four knockout losses; a former champion in what should be his prime, struggling to stay off the canvas.

After injury woes sidelined him for all of 2022, however, the Team Alpha Male talent returned to the Octagon last year to pick up back to back victories for the first time since 2016. After his latest win—a first round KO over Brian Kelleher—Garbrandt had a bold call-out at the ready: a fight with former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.

Figueiredo vs. Garbrandt booked for UFC 300

Long known as one of the biggest, hardest hitting fighters in the flyweight division, Deiveson Figueiredo made the jump up to 135 lbs this past December after a 3-year run of title fights, including a quadrilogy of bouts against Brandon Moreno. With a draw, a win, and two losses over those bouts and a body that was having increasing trouble making the drop all the way to 125, Figueiredo made the decision to try his luck in a new weight class, with a big splash in his debut—taking a dominant decision over Rob Font at UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan.

As a result, it looks like Garbrandt is all set to get his wish, with Brazilian MMA site AG Fight reporting that he and Figueiredo have been booked to meet at UFC 300. Sources close to the fighters have told the outlet that both fighters have agreed on the bout, although it has yet to be officially announced by the UFC.

Figueiredo and Garbrandt have some history

This isn’t the first time that Cody Garbrandt and Deiveson Figueiredo have looked to fight one another. Back in 2020, when Garbrandt was staring down an ill advised drop to the flyweight division and the Brazilian was still holding gold, there was a lot of talk about a potential title shot for the American.

“We want him to prove he can make 125 pounds and fight someone in my weight class,” Figueiredo said at the time. “After that, if he wins, he can come fight me. But we don’t agree with him coming down and skipping the line and going straight for the belt against me. He needs to prove he can make 125 and fight someone. It would be unfair if the UFC puts him straight for the belt. I think the UFC has to respect the others that worked hard for a title shot.”

Eventually, Garbrandt did give flyweight a spin, taking a single fight against Kai Kara-France in 2021, resulting in yet another KO loss. Meanwhile, Figueiredo lost and then regained his title against Brandon Moreno, before dropping the belt for the second (and seemingly final) time at UFC 283 last January.

UFC 300 is set to take place on April 13th in Las Vegas, NV. No headlining bout has been announced for the card, as of yet, however it is expected to play host to a women’s strawweight title bout between champion Zhang Weili and challenger Yan Xiaonan. A lightweight top contender’s bout between former champion Charles Oliveira and rising talent Arman Tsarukyan has also been announced for the event.

No Conor McGregor at UFC 300?

Posted on by Zane Simon in MMA News, UFC 300, UFC News

Once it became absolutely crystal clear that there was no way that Conor McGregor was going to be fighting in 2023, eyes immediately turned to the 2024 schedule and what that might mean for one of combat sports’ biggest superstars.

Obviously, as with every year, there’s International Fight Week. But that seems more likely to be the landing spot for Jon Jones. If McGregor was going to be fighting anytime in the first half of next year, the clearest destination was UFC 300. Another centennial mark for the world’s largest MMA promotion, which has—in the past anyway—meant a massive PPV offering for fans. Who better to make that happen than ‘The Notorious’ Irishman?

Helwani suggests UFC leaning away from Conor McGregor

If Conor McGregor seems the obvious choice for UFC 300—it even seemingly aligns with his six month drug testing window—it may just be that the brass have other plans. In a recent interview on the TimboSugarShow, longtime MMA reporter Ariel Helwani dropped a little grist into the rumor mill. Speaking to bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, Helwani revealed that the UFC may be planning a smaller event for the SBG talent, hoping to build multiple high-selling PPVs instead of just one massive event.

https://bloodyelbow.com/2023/11/14/conor-mcgregor-not-fighting-at-ufc-300/
Conor McGregor’s longtime coach says he’s off UFC 300

“Sometimes I feel like the UFC—because Conor [McGregor] is such a big deal—they try to find like the perfect scenario for him to fight in,” Helwani explained after revealing that he’d heard “maybe plans are changing” with regards to McGregor at UFC 300. (transcript via MMA News). “And I can understand, from a business stand point, why you wouldn’t want to put him on 300.”

“300 is going to sell itself because of the pageantry of the number, and whatnot. So maybe, if you put him on 301, you get two bites of that million-buy apple—if you get what I’m saying. Because maybe 301 wouldn’t be great without him.

“But to me? Come on man. Conor’s ready to go, who knows how many fights he has left in him. He’s foaming at the mouth, he’s almost begging for a fight. Put him on that damn card”

Sean O’Malley wanted UFC 300 spot

While Sean O’Malley already has his next fight set, against Marlon Vera at UFC 299 on March 9th, ‘Sugar’ had hoped to get a spot on UFC 300. Instead, however—and perhaps speaking to the kind of math that Helwani was speculating on—O’Malley recently revealed that the UFC wanted the MMA Lab talent to headline his own card, rather than sharing billing with other stars.

“I called out ‘Chito’ for December,” O’Malley said in an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience. “But then I talked to the UFC and they kind of already had—they were trying to get Colby (Covington) and Leon (Edwards) together. I asked them, and they want me to main event my own show, which I think is ****ing dope. I’m down with that.”

“I think UFC 300 is in April,” he added later. “That would be a sweet card to be on, but … I’m going to guess (I’ll be back) before that, before UFC 300.”

What’s left for UFC 300 then?

With O’Malley booked and McGregor potentially on the move, it’s worth asking just who the UFC might lean on to headline their 300th PPV event. Jon Jones is currently recovering from injury, Sean Strickland is set to defend his title at UFC 297, Leon Edwards at UFC 296, Islam Makhachev will likely be in the middle of Ramadan, And Alexander Volkanovski is set to defend his belt at UFC 298. Simlarly, Sean O’Malley and Alexandre Pantoja have bookings out in front of them and the women’s bantamweight title will be on the line at UFC 297 as well.

If the UFC isn’t going to go with Conor McGregor, that leaves them three distinct options. Alex Pereira, Alexa Grasso, and Weili Zhang. Considering none of those three have shown themselves to be a proven draw on their own, that’s a pretty tall task for the promotion and the high expectations they’ve set in the past.

UFC 100 was headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir, with GSP facing Thiago Alves in the co main and a grudge match between Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping to round things out. Before a number of fight cancellations, UFC 200 was set to be headlined by Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 2, alongside Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier 2.

Even with neither of those fights taking place we still got the return of Brock Lesnar, Daniel Cormier vs. Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar 2, and one of the last fights of Cain Velasquez’s career. All alongside an Amanda Nunes vs. Miesha Tate headliner. It wasn’t as special as it could have been, but not for lack of trying.

Is the UFC really going to try and headline UFC 300 with Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill alongside Weili Zhang vs. Yan Xiaonan? If that’s the route, then it’s going to feel a lot less like something special, and a lot more like just another fight card in a never-ending run of events.