UFC 301

UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg
The poster for UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	May 4, 2024 (2024-05-04)
Venue	Farmasi Arena
City	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Attendance	14,514 [1]
Total gate	Not announced [1]
Event chronology
UFC on ESPN: Nicolau vs. Perez UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Nascimento

UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 4, 2024, at the Farmasi Arena, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ^[2]

Background

The event marked the promotion's 12th visit to Rio de Janeiro and first since UFC 283 in January 2023. ^[2]

A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg headlined the event. ^[3]

Former WEC Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo made his return in a bantamweight bout against Jonathan Martinez, after retiring in September 2022. ^[4]

A lightweight bout between Ismael Bonfim and Vinc Pichel is expected to take place at the event. ^[5] The pair was previously expected to meet at UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis but the bout was scrapped after Bonfim missed weight. ^[6]

A middleweight bout between Michel Pereira and Makhmud Muradov was expected to take place at the event. ^[7] However, Muradov withdrew due to an infection. ^[8] He was replaced by Ihor Potieria, who is also scheduled to compete against Sharabutdin Magomedov at UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. Chimaev on June 22. ^[9]

A featherweight bout between Jean Silva and William Gomis was scheduled for this event. ^[10] However, the bout was eventually cancelled due to Gomis suffering a weight cut related illness. ^[11]

During the event's broadcast, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion (also the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion) Maurício Rua was announced as the next "pioneer wing" UFC Hall of Fame inductee during June's International Fight Week festivities in Las Vegas. Rua was already a UFC Hall of Famer himself after a light heavyweight bout that took place in November 2011 at UFC 139 against the former PRIDE Welterweight, PRIDE Middleweight and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson (also a former UFC Middleweight and Light Heavyweight title challenger) was inducted in the "fight wing" section as part of the 2018 class. ^[12]

Results

Main card (ESPN+ PPV)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Flyweight	Alexandre Pantoja (c)	def.	Steve Erceg	Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 49–46)	5	5:00	[lower-alpha 1]
Bantamweight	José Aldo	def.	Jonathan Martinez	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Light Heavyweight	Anthony Smith	def.	Vitor Petrino	Submission (guillotine choke)	1	2:00
Middleweight	Michel Pereira	def.	Ihor Potieria	Submission (guillotine choke)	1	0:54
Middleweight	Caio Borralho	def.	Paul Craig	KO (punches)	2	2:10
Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Featherweight	Joanderson Brito	def.	Jack Shore	TKO (doctor stoppage)	2	3:35
Women's Strawweight	Iasmin Lucindo	def.	Karolina Kowalkiewicz	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Myktybek Orolbai	def.	Elves Brener	Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–27)	3	5:00	[lower-alpha 2]
Lightweight	Drakkar Klose	def.	Joaquim Silva	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Early preliminary card (ESPN+)
Lightweight	Maurício Ruffy	def.	Jamie Mullarkey	TKO (punches)	1	4:42
Women's Flyweight	Dione Barbosa	def.	Ernesta Kareckaitė	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Ismael Bonfim	def.	Vinc Pichel	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Flyweight	Alessandro Costa	def.	Kevin Borjas	TKO (punches)	2	1:35

1. For the UFC Flyweight Championship.
2. Orolbai was deducted 1 point in round 3 due to grabbing the fence.

^[13]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[14]

• Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
• Performance of the Night: Michel Pereira, Caio Borralho, Maurício Ruffy, and Alessandro Costa

See also

• Martial Arts portal

• 2024 in UFC
• List of current UFC fighters
• List of UFC events

References

1. Mike Bohn (2024-05-05). "UFC 301 post-event facts: Michel Pereira joins elite company with eighth straight octagon win". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
2. Nolan King (2024-02-17). "UFC 301 officially announced for Rio de Janeiro". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
3. Guilherme Cruz (2024-03-15). "Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg flyweight title bout announced for UFC 301". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
4. Yago Rédua (2024-03-16). "To 'save' UFC Rio, José Aldo abandons retirement and faces bantamweight sensation". tatame.com.br. Retrieved 2024-03-16.(in Brazilian Portuguese)
5. Vipin Raghuwansh (2024-03-23). "Ismail Bonfim vs Vinc Pichel rebooked for UFC 301 PPV". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
6. Staff (2023-11-03). "UFC Fight Night 231 weigh-in results: Three miss marks in Sao Paulo, two fights scrapped". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
7. Harvey Leonard (2024-03-17). "UFC Matchmaking Bulletin (3/4-3/17): Michel Pereira booked For quick return after UFC 299 win, eight cancellations". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
8. Guilherme Cruz (2024-04-08). "Makhmud Muradov out of UFC 301 fight with Michel Pereira". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
9. Guilherme Cruz (2024-04-09). "Ihor Potieria steps in to fight Michel Pereira at UFC 301". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
10. Jay Anderson (2024-03-15). "William Gomis vs. Jean Silva announced for UFC 301". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
11. Staff (2024-05-03). "William Gomis vs. Jean Silva scrapped from UFC 301 in Brazil". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
12. Mike Bohn (2024-05-04). "Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua joins 2024 UFC Hall of Fame class". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
13. "UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 18 February 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
14. Dan Hiergesell (2024-05-05). "Bonuses! Back-flipping Michel Pereira banks $50K for quick submission - UFC 301". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2024-05-05.