Storylines: UFC 300

Perhaps no one in mixed martial arts inspires fear like Alex Pereira.

A terrifying physical and tactical specimen, the Brazilian kickboxer will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight crown against former champion Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pereira, 36, enters the Octagon on the strength of back-to-back victories. He last fought at UFC 295, where he buried Jiri Prochazka with a burst of second-round elbows and laid claim to the vacant title at 205 pounds with utmost authority. Other knockouts of Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland and Andreas Michailidis anchor the “Poatan” resume. Hill, meanwhile, finds himself on a four-fight winning streak, though a torn Achilles has kept him on the sidelines for more than a year. The 32-year-old Chicago native last competed on Jan. 21, 2023, when he connected with 232 significant strikes in a five-round unanimous decision over Glover Teixeira at UFC 2023. A technical knockout loss to Paul Craig in 2021 remains Hill’s only professional setback.

The Pereira-Hill showdown and its resulting fallout for the light heavyweight division is but one storyline to watch at UFC 300. Here are four more:

Paving the Way

Weili Zhang puts her undisputed women’s strawweight title on the line against countrywoman Xiaonan Yan in the co-main event, marking the first time in UFC history that combatants from China will have faced one another inside the Octagon with the fate of promotional gold hanging in the balance. On paper, it looks like an uphill climb for the challenger. Zhang has rattled off three straight victories since she suffered back-to-back losses to Rose Namajunas in 2021, further cementing herself as one of the sport’s pound-for-pound best. The 34-year-old last suited up at UFC 292, where she retained her championship in one-sided fashion and took a unanimous decision from Amanda Lemos on Aug. 19. Zhang secured six takedowns—they resulted in more than 16 minutes of control time—and outlanded the Brazilian by a staggering 296-29 margin in the five-round rout. On the other side of the equation, Yan was designated as the No. 1 contender at 115 pounds after she blew away former champion Jessica Andrade with punches in the first round of their UFC 288 encounter on May 6. She holds an 8-2 record in the UFC, having lost only to Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez. Can Yan rise to the occasion, buck conventional wisdom and spring the upset on MMA’s grandest stage?

No-Limit Soldiers

Risk rarely factors into Justin Gaethje’s decisions. In line for a potential title shot at 155 pounds, the former World Series of Fighting champion once again throws caution to the wind when he confronts Max Holloway in a three-round lightweight showcase that has the MMA community abuzz. Gaethje has won seven of his past nine bouts—Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira were responsible for his only defeats—and remains a prominent figure near the top of the division. He last competed on July 29, when he avenged a 2018 loss to Dustin Poirier with a sensational head kick knockout of the American Top Team star at UFC 291. One of the game’s most ferocious finishers, Gaethje has delivered 20 of his 25 professional victories by knockout or technical knockout. Holloway, meanwhile, returns to the 155-pound weight class for the first time in five years. The former featherweight champion last strapped on the gloves at UFC Fight Night 225, where he punched Chan Sung Jung into retirement in the third round of their Aug. 26 clash. Holloway holds the UFC’s all-time records for significant strikes landed (3,197) and total strikes landed (3,441). Will the Hawaiian slip a stick into Gaethje’s spokes and send him flying over the handlebars?

Hot Commodity

Stock in Bo Nickal seems to have no ceiling at this point. The blue-chip prospect carries a perfect 5-0 record—he has finished all five of his opponents inside one round—and accompanying hype into his featured middleweight attraction opposite Cody Brundage. Nickal was a four-time NCAA All-American and three-time national champion at Penn State University, where he piled up 120 career wins and countless accolades as an amateur wrestler. He made his professional MMA debut in June 2022, took two scorched-earth turns on Dana White’s Contender Series and arrived in the UFC as one of the most heralded young talents in years less than a year later. Nickal, 28, last saw action on July 8, when he needed just 38 seconds to dispose of Valentine Woodburn with punches at UFC 290. On the opposite side of the ledger, Brundage has played to mixed reviews since he joined the UFC roster in September 2021. The Factory X rep climbs back into the Octagon on the heels of back-to-back victories over Jacob Malkoun and Zachary Reese. Does Nickal prove the oddsmakers right—some sportsbooks list him as a ridiculous -3000 favorite—and continue his unabated ascent at 185 pounds?

Cutting Edge

Kayla Harrison leaves behind the comfort and familiarity of the Professional Fighters League to make her long-awaited UFC debut against Holly Holm in the featured women’s bantamweight prelim. A two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, Harrison won a pair of million-dollar women’s lightweight championships in the PFL but never could shake the criticism that she was a big fish in a small pond. The American Top Team export bowed out of the promotion with a three-round unanimous decision over Aspen Ladd on Nov. 24. Holm, meanwhile, remains one of the UFC’s go-to performers on the female side of the locker room despite the fact that she has sputtered to a 5-6 record with one no contest across 12 appearances since her landmark upset of Ronda Rousey in 2015. The 42-year-old Albuquerque, New Mexico, native submitted to a ninja choke from Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC on ESPN 49 in July, though the result was later overturned to a no contest once it was revealed the Brazilian had failed a post-fight drug test. How Will Harrison handle the weight cut—she has never fought below 145 pounds—as she attempts to adapt to new surroundings?