''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.

Background

The event marked the promotion's 12th visit to Rio de Janeiro and first since UFC 283 in January 2023. A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg headlined the event. Former WEC Featherweight Champion and two-time

UFC Featherweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classes ...

José Aldo made his return in a bantamweight bout against

Jonathan Martinez Jonathan Martinez (born April 20, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Martinez currently competes in the bantamweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Martinez was born and grew up in Califo ...

, after retiring in September 2022. A lightweight bout between Ismael Bonfim and Vinc Pichel took place at the event. The pair was previously expected to meet at UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis but the bout was scrapped after Bonfim missed weight. A middleweight bout between

Michel Pereira Michel Pereira (born 6 October 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2011, he formerly competed for 300 Sparta, Akhmat Fight Club, ...

and Makhmud Muradov was expected to take place at the event. However, Muradov withdrew due to an infection. He was replaced by Ihor Potieria, who was also scheduled to compete against Sharabutdin Magomedov at UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. Chimaev on June 22. A featherweight bout between Jean Silva and William Gomis was scheduled for this event. However, the bout was eventually cancelled due to Gomis suffering a weight cut related illness. 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 Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

title challenger) was inducted in the "fight wing" section as part of the 2018 class.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded. *Performance of the Night: Michel Pereira, Caio Borralho, Maurício Ruffy, and Alessandro Costa

References

{{2024 in mixed martial arts 2024 in UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events Sports competitions in Rio de Janeiro (city) 2024 in Brazilian sport Mixed martial arts in Brazil May 2024 sports events in Brazil

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References