Alexandre Pantoja will defend his undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown against Australian upstart Steve Erceg in the UFC 301 headliner on Saturday at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile, Brazilian icon Jose Aldo comes out of retirement to challenge Jonathan Martinez in the three-round bantamweight co-main event at 135 pounds.
915: Total strikes landed by Pantoja as a UFC flyweight, placing him sixth on the promotion’s all-time list at 125 pounds. Only Tim Elliott (1,786), Demetrious Johnson (1,678), Brandon Moreno (1,307), Dustin Ortiz (1,124) and Joseph Benavidez (1,026) have connected with more.
91: Seconds needed for Erceg to punch out Paul Loga at Eternal MMA 47 on Sept. 7, 2019. Nearly five years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.
379,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Aldo across his 20 assignments in the UFC. He has been awarded “Fight of the Night” four times and “Performance of the Night” twice.
4: Countries in which Martinez has plied his mixed martial arts trade. The Factory X representative has gone 17-3 in the United States, 1-0 in Australia, 1-0 in the United Arab Emirates and 0-1 in Canada.
20: Anthony Smith wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 54% of his career total (37). His list of UFC victims: Jimmy Crute, Mauricio Rua, Rashad Evans, Hector Lombard, Andrew Sanchez and Elvis Mutapcic. Smith toes the line against Vitor Petrino in a three-round light heavyweight showcase.
6: Consecutive years in which Petrino has fought at least once. In addition to a 1-0 mark in 2024, he went 2-0 in 2019, 1-0 in 2020, 3-0 in 2021, 1-0 in 2022 and 3-0 in 2023.
153: Significant strikes by which Michel Pereira has outlanded the opposition during his current seven-fight winning streak. “Demolidor” has been credited with 458 such strikes while absorbing only 305 of them in return. Pereira does battle with Ihor Potieria in a three-round middleweight feature.
3: Sub-minute stoppages on the Potieria resume. He put away Vladimir Romanyk with a rear-naked choke in 28 seconds at a Real Fight Promotion event in December 2017, disposed of Artur Kononenka with a heel hook in 38 seconds under the Professional Pankration Championship banner in June 2018 and took care of Ivan Rebar with a kimura in 40 seconds at a Maxiumus Fight Club show in August 2018.
3,212: Days since Caio Borralho experienced his only professional defeat. He has followed his unanimous decision loss to Joao Carvalho at Bradar Fight 3 on July 18, 2015 with 14 wins and a no-contest in 15 appearances. Borralho takes on former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion Paul Craig in a three-round middleweight appetizer.
13: Craig victories by submission, accounting for 76% of his career total (17). His methods of choice: eight triangle chokes, two armbars, one rear-naked choke, one guillotine choke and one brabo choke.
22: Years of age for Iasmin Lucindo. The youngest fighter on the card, she was born on Jan. 8, 2002 in Fortaleza, Brazil. Lucindo confronts Karolina Kowalkiewicz in a three-round women’s strawweight prelim.
41: Years of age for Vinc Pichel. The oldest fighter on the card, he was born on Nov. 23, 1982 in Lancaster, California. Pichel meets Ismael Bonfim in a three-round lightweight prelim.
.803: Cumulative winning percentage between the 28 fighters scheduled to compete at the event. They boast a combined record of 455-110-5. Smith has the most wins (37) and losses (19) of anyone on the card.