UFC 301 blew the roof off the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as ten hometown fighters saw their hands raised on an exciting night of fights.
In the main event of the evening, Alexandre Pantoja ensured the Brazilian crowd spilled onto the Rio streets in high spirits after he successfully defended his Flyweight title against unheralded Aussie challenger Steve Erceg.
Pintsized Interests soaked in the event to assess the night’s biggest winners and losers. Let us know in the comments below whether you agree with our picks.
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UFC 301 Winners
Biggest Winner: Anthony Smith
Not many folks had an Anthony Smith first-round submission victory on their bingo cards.
Lionheart, a +400 underdog ahead of the bout, was coming off a punishing third-round TKO loss to Khalil Rountree. Few, including Pintsized Interests, gave Smith much hope against an even more violently explosive opponent in Vitor Petrino.
Yet, despite the huge number of miles on Smith’s body, the 57-fights of experience proved to be his X-factor on Saturday night.
After Petrino’s uncharacteristic double leg takedown was stuffed, Smith pounced onto a standing guillotine choke. Panicking, the Brazilian attempted to slam Smith to the mat, but the 35-year-old maintained the choke from his back to force the tap.
Replays revealed that Petrino’s strange fight strategy may have stemmed from a lead leg injury sustained earlier in the round. Not that this revelation should take away from the massive cojones it took for Smith to take the fight in the first place.
Runner-Up: Mauricio Ruffy
It didn’t take long for the Conor McGregor comparisons to arise after Mauricio Ruffy‘s first-round TKO win over Jamie Mullarkey.
A low-volume sniper on the outside, Ruffy’s most visible similarities to the Irishman are his spinning back kicks. The Brazilian executed the strike a handful of times on Saturday night in a near picture perfect manner to that of Featherweight-McGregor.
More importantly for ‘One Shot’, however, was proving that his power could carry from the regional scene to the top promotions. His brutal flying knee and follow up punches stamped Ruffy’s tenth straight knockout, underlining his finishing instinct as he maintained his 100% stoppage streak.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, it is worth weighing up whether the Aussie was an ideal dance partner for the highlight reel stoppage.
Mullarkey is resolute in approaching every fight with his stand and bang style. Only when Ruffy faces a more conservative fighter can the hype train be allowed to leave the station.
UFC 301 Losers
Biggest Loser: Paul Craig
Not a single soul in the world felt that Paul Craig would succeed in dropping down to Middleweight.
The Scotsman was considered one of the strongest ground specialists at LHW, owing as much to his skillset as the technical vacuum at 215lbs. Moving down to Middleweight, however, Craig’s skillset has become diluted in a far more proficient division.
Worse yet, the holes in Bearjew’s striking are more intensely exposed at Middleweight by faster strikers.
On paper, Caio Borralho‘s seven-fight streak to his UFC career suggests an elite prospect, but the reality is that the Brazilian is fairly mediocre – albeit with insane durability and a well-rounded skillset. Yet, on Saturday night, Craig was beaten from pillar to post with ease.
It may be time for one of the UK’s best MMA products to call it quits on a stellar career.
Runner-Up: William Gomis
It is rare for a fighter to make weight but consequently pull out of the fight due to weigh-in complications.
Poor old William Gomis made the Featherweight limit (146lb), but achieved it by some margin after he stepped on the scales fully clothed to a resounding 143lbs. The shaky looking ‘Jaguar’ needed assistance off the scales and out the room with a worryingly delayed hobble.
The UFC thankfully cancelled his scheduled fight with Jean Silva, yet no official reason has been offered by the UFC or Gomis’ team as to why the fighter appeared so unwell.
Unfortunately for the hotly touted Frenchman, Saturday’s debacle marks his third consecutive cancelled fight in the UFC.
Last entering the octagon in September 2023, a third-round TKO win over Yanis Ghemmouri, questions have begun floating as to how long the promotion will persist with Gomis’ no-shows.
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