All 26 athletes weighed in successfully ahead of the monumental UFC 300 card.
In the main event, Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill both came in dead on the Light Heavyweight limit of 205lbs. The former 205lbs champion Hill, returns to try and reclaim the belt he relinquished following a ruptured Achilles tendon. After 13 months away from the octagon, the 32 year old makes his long awaited return. Alex Pereira’s rise through the UFC has been nothing short of remarkable. Having signed with the promotion after only four professional MMA bouts, Pereira made his intentions clear from the outset, to beat his long time foe Israel Adesanya in another discipline, having already defeated ‘The Last Stylebender’ in Kickboxing. After claiming the Middleweight title from Izzy, then dropping it to him when they rematched, the Brazilian moved to the Light Heavyweight title and won the vacant belt in just his second fight in the division.
In the co-main event, Weili Zhang puts her Strawweight title on the line against fellow countrywomen Xiaonan Yan. Both women currently hold identical promotional records, amassing 8-2 records, since signing with the UFC. Weili enters the contest riding a three fight win streak. After dropping her title to Rose Namajunas in 2021, ‘Magnum’ had to wait 18 months before she would get her hands on UFC gold once more, when she stopped Carla Esparza in the second round of their UFC 281 bout. Xiaonan picked up her first UFC stoppage in her last outing with a brutal first round finish against Jessica Andrade at UFC 288.
The BMF will also be on the line as Justin ‘The Highlight Reel’ Gaethje faces Max Holloway over five rounds, in the Lightweight division. Holloway makes the move to 155lbs for only the second time in his UFC tenure, with the first being a short notice call up against Dustin Poirier for the then vacant Lightweight title. As two of the most entertaining fighters on the roster, the Lightweight bout is being widely considered to be the people’s main event.
Elsewhere, former Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling looked more than comfortable with the extra 10lbs in his favour. ‘Funk Master’ tipped the scales at 146lbs and looked extremely well as he stepped on. Making the move to Featherweight, Sterling will face Calvin Kattar in the preliminary section of the fight night. On a two fight skid, ‘The Boston Finisher’ will be making the walk for the first time since his ACL injury against Arnold Allen in October 2022.
One of the most intriguing moments of the weigh-ins was just prior to Kayla Harrison taking to the scales. The former PFL World Champion has spent the majority of her career competing at 155lbs so there was a lot made of whether the Judo extraordinaire would be able to make it down to 135lbs ahead of her clash with Holly Holm. Ever the professional, Harrison came in at 136lbs, with Holm weighing the exact same.
You can find all weigh in results, below:
Main Event – Light Heavyweight Title Bout: Alex Pereira (205) vs Jamahal Hill (205)
Co-Main Event – Women’s Strawweight Title Bout: Zhang Weili (115) vs Yan Xiaonan (115)
BMF Title – Lightweight Bout: Justin Gaethje (156) vs Max Holloway (156)
Lightweight Bout: Charles Oliveira (156) vs Arman Tsarukyan (156)
Middleweight Bout: Bo Nickal (186) vs Cody Brundage (186)
PRELIMS
Light Heavyweight Bout: Ji?í Procházka (206) vs Aleksandar Rakic (206)
Featherweight Bout: Calvin Kattar (145.5) vs Aljamain Sterling (146)
Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Holly Holm (136) vs Kayla Harrison (136)
Featherweight Bout: Sodiq Yusuff (146) vs Diego Lopes (146)
EARLY PRELIMS
Lightweight Bout: Jalin Turner (155.5) vs Renato Moicano (156)
Women’s Strawweight Bout: Jéssica Andrade (116) vs Marina Rodriguez (116)
Lightweight Bout: Bobby Green (156) vs Jim Miller (155.5)
Bantamweight Bout: Deiveson Figueiredo (135.5) vs Cody Garbrandt (136)
