UFC 301 had the task of following up an absolutely massive PPV, and it surprisingly delivered as far as action is concerned.
The main event saw a back-and-forth dog fight as Steve Erceg, with less than a year of experience in the UFC, took on the promotion’s flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja. UFC 301, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, also boasted the return of UFC Hall of Famer, Jose Aldo, in the co main event slot.
Steve Erceg
Steve Erceg put on an incredibly gutsy performance on Saturday night and showed that he is one of the elite fighters in the flyweight division. Unfortunately, he lost a unanimous decision to Alexandre Pantoja thanks in part to a last second takedown. This loss snaps a 12-fight unbeaten streak spanning back to Erceg’s second professional fight. Erceg is now 3-1 with the UFC since debuting on June 10th, 2023.
Erceg should have another high-level fight scheduled as he has shown himself to be fully capable of such opportunities.
Alex Perez just won in a short notice main event last week when he successfully stopped Matheus Nicolau. The division is practically wide open thanks to injuries and temporary retirements. There aren’t many reasons why not- with one win, maybe two, Steve Erceg is back challenging for the belt. Erceg put on that good of a performance. Perez is scheduled to take on Tagir Ulanbekov who is 4-1 in his UFC stint thus far. Winner of this fight should take on Erceg for a title eliminator bout. Thats the most exciting scenario for the flyweight division at this stage with a dominate champion like Pantoja.
Erceg’s next fight: Alex Perez vs. Tagir Ulanbekov winner
Jonathan Martinez
Jonathan Martinez lost a unanimous decision against one of the best fighters of all time, Jose Aldo in the co main event at UFC 301. It was a big moment for Martinez as he stepped in to welcome the legend back from his short-lived retirement. Unfortunately for Martinez, he lost a unanimous decision to Jose Aldo.
Jonathan is now 10-4 with the UFC, and just had his 6-fight win streak snapped.
Pedro Munhoz would be a solid opponent as Munoz is another veteran that has faced top level competition but has won just 1 of his last 6 fights. It’s a second chance for Martinez to capitalize on a big name. And a good matchup for 37-year-old Munhoz at this stage in his career.
Martinez’s next fight: Pedro Munhoz
Vitor Petrino
Vitor Petrino suffered a devastating loss on Saturday night as he was strangled via guillotine in the first round. It took two minutes for the former light heavyweight title challenger, Anthony Smith, to get the tap.
Petrino was 4-0 in the UFC and 11-0 as a pro. Definitely showed just how green he still is with the performance against a veteran like Smith who has 13 wins in the UFC and is 38-19 as a pro. Petrino is definitely a guy that still has a lot of potential and at 26 should still be considered a guy that is still improving.
That fact considered, a good opponent for Vitor Petrino moving forward would be Ryan Spann. Spann was last in action last week and was also finished by his opponent. Spann is currently just barely in the UFC’s top 15 rankings and is on a 3-fight losing streak. Spann also has a loss to Anthony Smith from August of last year.
Petrino’s next fight: Ryan Spann
Ihor Potieria
Ihor Potieria was quickly submitted in under a minute by Michel Pereira via standing guillotine on Saturday night. Although the result was not without a little bit of controversy as Pereira landed a foul with a backflip to a grounded opponent, it was a swift a decisive loss for Ihor nevertheless.
Potieria was stepping in at UFC 301 for Makhmud Muradov who had to withdraw from the bout due to infection.
Ihor has won just 2 of his last 6 fights since entering the UFC. And though he has a win over the legend Shogun Rua, Ihor missed weight ahead of his other win with the promotion in February against Robert Bryczek.
Potieria is scheduled to take on Shara Magomedov June 22nd on the Whittaker vs. Chimaev card in Saudi Arabia.
Potieria’s next fight: Shara Magomedov
Paul Craig
Paul Criag was knocked out in the second round of his fight against Caio Borralho to open the main card of UFC 301. Craig is now 1-2 since moving down to the middleweight division having beaten Andre Muniz and lost to Brendan Allen.
Paul Craig is now 9-8-1 in the UFC. Craig has won just 1 of his last 5 fights.
Despite his success at 205lbs., Craig needs a win and a good performance in his next bout to stay in the mix of the better fighters in the middleweight division.
A solid matchup for Craig would be against Edmen Shahbazyan. Edmen is 6-4 in the UFC and has won 2 of his last 6 fights. Shahbazyan saw a notable step up in competition in 2020 and after stumbling for a few bouts is now seemingly improved and taking on more appropriate competition.
Craig’s next fight: Edmen Shahbazyan
