In December 2023, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the first three fights added to the highly anticipated UFC 300 card.
We know former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka will take on Aleksandr Rakic. Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will make his featherweight debut against Calvin Kattar, and middleweight phenom Bo Nickal will tangle with Cody Brundage.
Those are all solid bouts that could wind up on the main card, or if the event gets even more stacked, at least one of them could be a mid-show prelim.
On Tuesday, rumors picked up around the first potential title fight for UFC 300.
According to multiple people, including former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo, the rematch between welterweight champ Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad “is set.”
If Edwards-Muhammad is locked in, it’s an excellent fight, but it’s unlikely to be the main bout used to sell such a big pay-per-view. Edwards is one of the most respected champs in the sport, but he’s not much of a self-promoter, and the same could be said for Muhammad.
There’s some accusations of ducking coming from Muhammad and his camp, but nothing quite heavy enough to carry this one beyond co-main event status.
The obvious name most combat sports fans considered for UFC 300 is Conor McGregor, but his long-awaited clash with Michael Chandler might be headed for International Fight Week in June.
If UFC 300 won’t have McGregor and Jon Jones is still on the mend from a torn pectoral muscle, the UFC will need at least one other big fight to make the 300th pay-per-view memorable.
Here are my predictions for three fights that could be added to the show.
Alex Pereira Vs. Winner of Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker
If any fight with Alex Pereira is added, it’s a potential main event of the evening.
Pereira has become a megastar with the promotion, and while there were rumors he would try to win a title in his third weight class at heavyweight against interim champ Tom Aspinall, it now seems more likely he’ll defend the title at light heavyweight.
Pereira could face former champion Jamahal Hill, but the latter may still be recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, which was supposed to keep him out until the second quarter of 2024.
A UFC 300 return for Hill is possible, but it might be a little more of a rush than he’d want going into a challenge against a guy like Pereira.
Because of this, Pereira taking on the winner of Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker feels more realistic.
Ankalaev and Walker fought to a controversial no decision in October 2023. Thus, they have their rematch set for the main event of a Fight Night on January 13 in Las Vegas.
Assuming there is a definitive winner of the rematch, the man who prevails could theoretically be ready to challenge Pereira in April at UFC 300.
Alexa Grasso Vs. Zhang Weili in a Title-Vs-Title Matchup
Grasso escaped with a controversial split draw in her rematch with Valentina Shevchenko in September 2023 and then underwent surgery on her hand in October 2023.
Grasso should be ready to return to the Octagon by April, and there has already been talk of her battling strawweight champion Zhang Weili in a champion-vs-champion matchup.
UFC 300 needs and is likely to get some diversity in the way of a significant women’s fight or two, and this one makes a ton of sense.
Weili’s most logical next challenger at strawweight is Tatiana Suarez, but she faces Amanda Lemos in February.
The winner of Erin Blanchfield-Manon Fiorot on March 30 would appear to have a beeline toward Grasso.
In the meantime, Grasso and Weili would be excellent additions to the UFC 300 card.
Manel Kape vs. Kai Kara France Grudge Match
Manel Kape is potentially the next superstar of the lower weight classes in combat sports. He’s tremendously skilled and a trash-talker capable of moving the needle.
He was scheduled to fight Kai Kara France in 2023, but the latter pulled out with a concussion. The two men have engaged in a bitter back-and-forth exchange since the fight was called off and thus set the table for a scrap should Kape defeat Matheus Nicolau in the co-main event of the aforementioned January 13 card.
While this fight could be a grudge match, it’s also a bout that could determine the next title challenger for Alexandre Pantoja.
Amir Albazi and Brandon Moreno will have something to say about this when they clash in February, but Kape and Kara France are knocking on the door.
It’s going to be an interesting first quarter in the UFC.
