Alexandre Pantoja retained his flyweight title at UFC 301 on Saturday, but not without a stiff test from Australia’s Steve Erceg. The card, the first PPV and second event back from UFC 300, had a tough act to follow and looked dangerously thin on paper. Luckily, the fights, especially the main card, delivered. In the co-headliner, Jose Aldo made a triumphant return, reclaiming his status as the “King of Rio.”
What’s next for Pantoja, Aldo and the other big winners from UFC 301? That’s a very good question indeed.
Alexandre Pantoja
The UFC flyweight champion made the second defense of his world title in his birth city of Rio de Janiero, Brazil, on Saturday evening. The challenger, Steve Erceg, put up a better fight than most anticipated and even arguably won three rounds of the fight, but in the end a unanimous decision win puts Pantoja on the road to his third challenger next, while Erceg must hone his considerable skills with an eye on being champion down the line.
The top contenders coming off of wins in the division are Brandon Royval, Amir Albazi, and Manel Kape. Royval lost 50-45 to Pantoja just last year, so whichever of Albazi and Kape can get a solid win (and make weight, an issue Kape has had before) will recieve the next shot. It is hard to say which one that will be. Kape is on a four-fight UFC winning streak while Albazi is on five. Albazi has beaten the better competition, so for now he will be penciled in as the next challenger. Howerver, he could not fight at UFC 301 due to an injury, so much depends on his timetable for return.
Pantoja’s Next Fight: Amir Albazi
Jose Aldo
One of the undisputed GOATs of MMA returned to the Octagon after a two-year retirement. Jose Aldo Jr, the former ten-year undefeated featherweight champion, retired after a loss to Merab Dvalishvili in 2022, but returned after a hiatus where he competed in a few boxing exhibitions, winning two and drawing one, against Jeremy Stephens. He looked as good as ever, even at the age of thirty-seven and at a weight class one lower than the divison he reigned over for so long; making it all the more impressive given that speed is even more of a priority for fighters at bantamweight, and speed is often the first thing to go.
Amazingly, Aldo looked much faster than the much younger Jonathan Martinez en route to a 30-27 win. This was the last fight on his UFC contract, but if he re-signs there are a bevy of matchups for him. Most fans want to see him fight another legend, the two who are available at bantamweight right now being Dominick Cruz and Henry Cejudo. Cejudo lost his last two while Cruz is 2-2 since his own return from hiatus, back in 2020. Cruz is ranked eleventh, and coincidentally Aldo just beat the man ranked right behind him. Presuming that Aldo will slot into Martinez’s twelfth spot in the ranks, Jose Aldo vs Dominick Cruz makes too much sense not to book.
Aldo’s Next Fight: Dominick Cruz
Anthony Smith
Many counted out the underdog veteran ‘Lionheart’ against Vitor Petrino after his 1-3 run in recent fights, but Smith showed why gatekeepers deserve respect as he made short work of the Brazilian, guillotining Petrino in the first round. Smith is still tenth in the light-heavyweight rankings and has fought most of the division at this point. One of the few fighters he has not fought yet is Azamat Murzakanov.
A Russian combat sambo specialist, Murzakanov is undefeated in MMA at 13-0 and in the UFC at 3-0. He is the hottest prospect in the division at present now that Petrino lost his zero, so it only makes sense to see if Smith can derail another hype train. His veteran savvy and well-rounded skillset could make it hard for the explosive young fighter.
Smith’s Next Fight: Azamat Murzakanov
Michel Pereira
After his opponent Makmud Muradov pulled out, Michel Pereira was left with Ihor Potieria as a short-notice replacement at UFC 301, and did what you would expect a fighter on a seven-fight winning streak to do by stopping the replacement in under a minute. Pereira now has three wins at middleweight with a total fight time of three minutes and one second, showing that he is beyond the level of unranked fighters and is ready to fight ranked MWs. He did well against ranked welterweights while cutting massive amounts of weight, so many believe he is a potential title challenger at his more natural weight class of 185-lbs.
However, the electrifying striker must first face a ranked contender at middleweight. Fighters like Hermansson, Hernandez, and Borralho are all available, but coming off of wins. The best option is someone ranked but on a losing streak, the inverse of where Michel is at now. Enter: Roman Dolidze, a Georgian who has an interesting grappling style but could not bring it to bear against Marvin Vettori or Nassourdine Imavov, two solid wrestlers. Pereira is more of a pure striker, so being tested by a wrestling attack will be a good way to gauge his potential in the division after beating three strikers in a row.
Pereira’s Next Fight: Roman Dolidze
Caio Borralho
Brazil’s Borralho opened the main card of UFC 301, looking to extend his five-fight winning streak which was impressive but earned him no real highlights, most of them being grappling-heavy decisions. That changed on Saturday when he knocked Paul Craig out cleanly in the second round after dominating on the feet the entire fight. Craig is not the best striker, but that highlight and his 6-0 UFC record can propel Caio towards the top of the rankings now.
There are two real options for Borralho, fighters ranked ahead of his #14 (for now) spot at middleweight who are available and make sense as opponents: Jack Hermansson and Marvin Vettori. Everyone else is either on the ascent themselves, booked, or not ranked high enough to be logical opponents. Vettori is a big step up in competition, but one that a six-fight winning streak probably deserves. He and Borralho are both well-rounded, though Marvin is more of a brute while the Brazilian is about finesse. It would be interesting to see which approach wins out.
Borralho’s Next Fight: Marvin Vettori
