UFC 300 predictions: Weili and Pereira set to pick up huge wins
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 300 is set to take place on Saturday, Apr. 12. The widely anticipated card will consist of 18 ranked fighters and two champions competing across the 13-fight card. The card seems to be stacked up from start to finish, which is very fitting for the UFC’s 300th pay-per-view event.
Deiveson Figueiredo (#8) vs. Cody Garbrandt - Deiveson Figueiredo
Deiveson Figueiredo will take on Cody Garbrandt in a bantamweight bout to kick off the card during the early preliminaries. Figueiredo is jumping up to bantamweight after likely being multiple steps away from the flyweight title picture. This would usually be a huge advantage to an opponent since Figueiredo is fighting at 10 more pounds than he usually does, however, Garbrandt also switched weight classes when he moved back to flyweight in December 2021. Garbrandt has recently picked it up a bit after a rough losing streak, but his last two wins were against much lesser opponents. He bit off more than he can chew in this situation, and it is more than possible that Figueiredo gets off to a hot start in the bantamweight division.
Calvin Kattar (#8) vs. Aljamain Sterling (#2) - Aljamain Sterling
Similar to Figueiredo and Garbrandt, Aljamain Sterling is going to take his chances while moving weight classes this Saturday. Sterling will move up to featherweight because of the unfortunate bantamweight title scene. After losing to Sean O'Malley in August 2023, Sterling could not get a rematch as O’Malley elected to take on fifth-ranked Marlon Vera over Sterling’s teammate, first-ranked Merab Dvalishvili. With that being said, it is understandable that Sterling would like to move weight classes even though he will have a tough challenge to start things off. Kattar has been a top featherweight competitor for a while but hasn’t been able to get to the title just yet. A loss against Sterling would put Kattar’s record in his last five fights at 1-4, and unfortunately for Kattar, that is likely to happen.
Justin Gaethje (#2) vs. Max Holloway (#2) - Justin Gaethje
Yet again we have another fighter moving up weight classes. Max Holloway will move up to lightweight after a very long featherweight stay. Unfortunately for him, this was a pretty bad opponent to have your first fight within a new weight class alongside. Gaethje is coming off of a ridiculously good outing against Dustin Poirier, managing to put on one of the best knockouts in recent memory. Holloway shouldn’t be counted out, but due to Gathje’s recent fights and lightweight capabilities, Gathje should be considered the favorite.
Zhang Weili (C) vs. Yan Xiaonan (#1) - Zhang Weili
Zhang Weili is a pretty heavy underdog going into her bout against Yan Xiaonan. Weili beat one of the greatest women's fighters ever, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, in June 2022 and then won her championship back in November 2022. She has been champion since then which makes the idea of her being an underdog pretty confusing. Xiaonan has a pretty impressive win against Jessica Andrade under her belt, but that’s about it. This fight will be an excellent co-main event and Weili will look to come out with her third straight successful title defense.
Alex Pereira (C) vs Jamahal Hill (#1) - Alex Pereira
Alex Pereira will go up against Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300 for the light heavyweight championship. When the news originally dropped that this was going to be the main event, many people felt like the main event deserved to be more impressive. On paper, this could be true, but as a fight, this is bound to be a great one. Pereira has been on an absolute tear since his first UFC bout back in July 2022. Pereira is 4-1 since joining the UFC, winning both the middleweight championship and the light heavyweight championship in that span. On the other hand, Hill has never lost the championship other than when he relinquished the title due to injury. Having both fighters walk into this match off of wins makes it feel like neither of them can lose; nevertheless, Pereira has been just a little bit more dominant.
UFC 300 has the aura and chance to become the biggest event in the company’s recent history. With so many top-ranked competitors and two title fights, the event certainly can live up to the hype that has been placed around it. Watch out for Figueiredo, Sterling, Gaethje, Weili, and Pereira to see if they do, ultimately, come out of the event with impressive wins.