UFC 300's Main Event Doesn't Have Mega-Star Power, but Does It Matter?
Go ahead, be honest.
You thought it'd be bigger than this, didn't you?
If you're a combat sports fan in general and a UFC fan in particular, there's a good chance you'd heard at least some chatter about the octagonal super card under construction for April 13 in Las Vegas.
To say it's been talked about for a long time is an understatement.
Conjecture about the lineup began nearly eight years ago in some places and grew louder in recent months whenever another high-profile main-eventer idea was floated.
Conor McGregor? Ronda Rousey? Brock Lesnar?
Believe it or not, each had a moment or two in the clickbait sun before Dana White finally put an end to the guessing game early Sunday morning.
Somewhere in the bowels of the Honda Center, not far from where Alexander Volkanovski was adjusting to new status as an ex-featherweight king, the UFC czar went public with the news that Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill would share space atop the UFC 300 marquee at T-Mobile Arena.
Pereira, for those unaware, is the promotion's light heavyweight champion after his KO of Jiří Procházka three months ago in midtown Manhattan. The title had been vacated shortly before when its previous owner, Hill, ruptured an Achilles tendon playing basketball during International Fight Week.
So, sure. It's a good fight between worthwhile principals at 205 pounds.
The fearsome Pereira is a two-division champ after just seven octagonal appearances, and the dynamic Hill was trending well after a thrilling defeat of Glover Teixeira at last January's show in Brazil.
Adding to the competitive intrigue, the since-retired Teixeira is now part of Pereira's training team.
But, come on. Is that really all there is?
Considering the names tossed around and the comprehensive interest they generated, it's difficult to fathom Pereira-Hill could be as good as it gets. It'd probably have been no more than a co-main to Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria, and it's hard to believe it'll resonate transcendent to an oft-fickle fan base.
A crowd that groans after 15 seconds of feinting seems unlikely to suffer matchmaking foolishness, after all, and despite Jon Anik's early morning optimism that the hardcore set will be "very, very satisfied" with White's news, it's a far safer bet that initial exit polling will be disillusioning at best to the UFC brass.
All of that, however, doesn't mean the show can't be a huge success.
It can be. More than likely, it will be.
Though a seismic climax may have been easier with more recognizable fighters in the finale, it's hardly hollow marketing for White to claim the milestone event's main selling point is that the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. In fact, several of the 11 other fights penciled in for the spring have star power, particularly a BMF title match set at lightweight between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway.
Strawweight champ Zhang Weili will defend against top contender Yan Xiaonan in what's positioned (for now, at least) as the co-main and the would-be pay-per-view slate now listed on ESPN.com also includes former 155-pound champ Charles Oliveira and fourth-ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan.
Further down the bill, respected veteran Jim Miller beat out Kelvin Gastelum and Julianna Pena to get his wish and become the only fighter set to appear at 300 who'd also fought on UFC 200 in 2016.
Then a young buck of 32, Miller stopped Takanori Gomi in one round in the first bout of the company's first show at a still-glistening T-Mobile Arena. Now 40 and the UFC's all-time leader in fights (43), wins (26) and submission attempts (40), he'll again be in the opener to face fellow graybeard Bobby Green.
And he's got another unique wish for fight night.
"I don't know if Bruce will introduce me as Jim 'F--king' Miller," Miller told MMA Fighting.
"I don't know if he swears when he's working. He definitely swears when he's not. I think it would be cool. I think it would be cool to maybe open the pay-per-view with that. I think doing that in front of the T-Mobile full of fans would be awesome. I think that would get me super fired up."
Only Gastelum and Pena, too, remain active and relevant from the 2016 lineup.
Both were winners on the mid-card, and both have reached the championship level since, with Gastelum losing an interim title bout to Israel Adesanya at middleweight and Pena splitting two fights with UFC 200 main-eventer Amanda Nunes in which she earned and lost bantamweight gold.
Gastelum lost to Sean Brady in December and Pena hasn't appeared since the second Nunes bout.
Several other ex-champs—namely Holly Holm, Deiveson Figueiredo, Cody Garbrandt, Jessica Andrade, Aljamain Sterling and the aforementioned Procházka—will cram the early and mid-cards this time around, and perhaps the promotion's best chance to bridge the gap from 300 to 400, predatory middleweight grappler Bo Nickal, returns in a compelling step-up against Cody Brundage.
He just turned 28. He's just a couple years into his MMA run.
He might have enough runway to remain relevant for another 100 shows.
But in the meantime, he provides plenty more reason to pay attention come April.
And whaddya know? He helps a giddy Anik prove his point, too.
"From top to bottom," he said, "UFC 300 is an embarrassment of riches."
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