Definitely, for the crowd it was the “King of Rio,” the famous José Aldo, heavyweight UFC Hall of Famer and retired featherweight champion.
Within Brazilian soil the “Junior” made his MMA return after a less than two years retirement to meet Jonathan Martinez who is among bantamweight top 15 in the Octagon.
Other recognizable names such as Anthony Smith, Paul Craig, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and Jack Shore all struggled to get out of enemy territory with victories. But did they combine well enough to make a good night of fights? Let’s take a look at what went wrong and what went well at UFC 301.
The fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg ended with Pantoja still holding on to his flyweight belt which he had defended in his native Rio de Janeiro. In the card’s main event at Farmasi Arna, Pantoja eked past Steve Erceg as he took a unanimous decision win home. It was a closely contested match with several rounds being debatable. Although Pantoja began strongly, Erceg improved in round two when his boxing woke up. At this point, Erceg caused substantial damage to Pantoja by cutting him deeply making blood spurt all over the canvas whereas still keeping control over the challenger on mat; then came something interesting about our champion that caught my eye: Pantoja presented an integrated line of attack through using his striking and grappling forcibly throughout from opening bell till end. In fact possibly fourth frame remained most dangerous one since Erceg’s fists became even more lively. That said it was enough to get the judges decision. Pantoja got the judges decision and retained his world title.
The results from the entire UFC301 card can be found below:
- Main Event: Alexandre Pantoja has defeated Steve Erceg by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
Co-Main Event: José Aldo has defeated Jonathan Martinez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) - Anthony Smith has submitted Vitor Petrino (guillotine choke) at 2:00 of Round 1
- Michel Pereira has submitted Ihor Potieria (guillotine choke) at 0:54 of Round 1
- Caio Borralho KO’d Paul Craig (strikes) at 2:10 of Round 2
- Joanderson Brito TKO’d Jack Shore (leg kicks) at 3:35 of Round 2
- Iasmin Lucindo wins over Karolina Kowalkiewicz in a unanimous decision match (30-27, 30-27, and again, another one with the same score)
- Myktybek Orolbai defeats Elves Brener by unanimous decision(29 -27) , then Joaquim Silva is beaten by Drakkar Klose via uanimous decision(29 -28), Jamie Mullarkey gets knocked out in the very first round of his fight against Mauricio Ruffy(4.42mins), Dione Barbosa wins Ernesta Kareckaite through a unanimous referee’s decisions for scores of twenty-nine to twenty-eight for all judges or panelists on this day.
- Ismael Bonfim beat Vinc Pichel through a unanimous judge’s decison that read thirty to twenty-seven points each time.
- Alessandro Costa overcame Kevin Borjas through technical knockout in the second round timed at one minute and thirty-five seconds.