It is safe to say that the undercard bouts overshadowed the main and co-main events at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro.
The pay-per-view headlined by a flyweight title clash between reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg also set the stage for the much-awaited comeback of the former pound-for-pound king Jose Aldo.
In the main event, ‘The Cannibal’ retained his title with a unanimous decision win over Erceg. Aldo also had a triumphant homecoming at Rio de Janeiro as he outclassed Jonathan Martinez to earn a unanimous decision win.
However, the undercard fights at the event clearly took the spotlight away from the main eventers. Every fight on the main card other than the main and co-main events featured spectacular finishes. Even a few prelims and early prelims bouts have hit it big with the MMA community.
UFC 301: Performance of the Night bonuses
Promotional debutant Mauricio Ruffy, flyweight contender Alessandro Costa, middleweight star Michel Pereira and surging 185-pound contender Caio Borralho were the ones who bagged an extra $50k each by way of Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC 301.
Ruffy earned praise from Dana White for his first-round TKO win over Jamie Mullarkey. Following the fight, the UFC CEO took to X, lauding Ruffy as the most impressive debutant of all time, while posting a video of the 27-year-old pulling off a scissor sweep on his opponent.
Pereira was his usual explosive self during his fight against Ihor Potieria, showing off his capoeira skills by unloading a backflip kick on his opponent before locking in a standing guillotine to choke the Ukrainian out at the 54-second mark of the opening round.
Watch Michael Pereira’s submission at UFC 301 below:
In the battle of the flyweights, ‘Nono’ broke down his opponent with debilitating leg kicks in the second round, before closing the show with vicious ground and pound. In another treat for the Brazilian fans, Sao Luis native Borralho crippled recently turned middleweight Paul Craig‘s hopes for a title run at 185 pounds with a second-round KO over the Scotsman.
