Alexandre Pantoja kept possession of his UFC Flyweight Championship on Saturday night, battling against a game Steve Erceg for five competitive and hard-fought rounds before getting his arm raised via decision.
Pantoja’s win was a homecoming for the Brazilian champ, competing in the country for the first time in over a decade. His victory headlined UFC 301, which took place at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
With two scores of 48-47 and a third that read 49-46, Pantoja defended his belt for the second time and overcame Erceg in a unanimous decision.
A combination of controlling grappling and an ability to hang in stand-up positions allowed Pantoja to walk away with the decision win after a fight that was undoubtedly close.
The performance saw Pantoja use his grappling to shut down the attacks of Erceg, getting him to the ground nine different times throughout the fight. Erceg didn’t make things easy for Pantoja on the ground, often scrambling and causing the champ to adjust. However, despite the resistance, these battles on the ground rarely ended with Erceg in the controlling position.
The fight was a back-and-forth battle on the feet, with Pantoja and Erceg both connecting with meaningful shots and at times out-landing each other. One of Erceg’s top moments was a cut that he opened in the third round, slicing open Pantoja with an elbow to the head. Pantoja landed a high volume of shots in many rounds, scoring with punches to both the head and body of Erceg.
After the fight concluded, Erceg believed the title bout came down to the final round. In the frame, a pair of takedown attempts from Erceg were reversed into controlling positions for Pantoja, making it a strong round for the Brazilian. Erceg expressed frustration afterward, claiming that he “blew it” in the final minutes.
Pantoja has now defended his UFC Flyweight Championship twice, making him just the third titleholder in the division’s history to do so (previous names to do so are Demetrious Johnson and Deiveson Figueiredo). His prior title appearance saw him go five rounds against Brandon Royval to earn a unanimous decision nod.
Pantoja gained the title last year with a split decision victory over Brandon Moreno.
Erceg was being given a title shot quite early into his UFC run, as he wasn’t even a part of the promotion a year ago. He made his debut for the top MMA brand last June, stepping in on short notice and beating David Dvorak in an upset result. He later also overcame Alessandro Costa and Matt Schnell.
Pantoja gave credit to Erceg’s skills afterward.
“I’m in here to fight the best in the world, and this is one of them,” Pantoja said, referring to Erceg. “What a tough guy, what a tough division.”
Jose Aldo kicks off return tour with stellar performance against Jonathan Martinez
UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo came out of retirement in the co-main event and showed that years after his title run he has yet to lose the skills that make him better than many top names.
Aldo put together a striking clinic against ranked bantamweight Jonathan Martinez, showcasing superior speed and accuracy with shots through three rounds to earn a unanimous decision win.
Aldo had a higher output early on, out-landing a slow-starting Martinez. He continued to control the fight as the pace quickened, visibly wobbling Martinez twice and landing the better strikes overall.
Surprisingly, Aldo brought the fight to the ground in the closing minutes, taking Martinez down after hurting him with a combination on the feet. After three rounds, it was undeniable that Aldo had won the fight.
Aldo was appearing for the first time since his unconvincing 2022 retirement from MMA. The former champion stepped away from the sport after losing to title contender Merab Dvalishvili, previously possessing a strong three-fight winning streak. He never truly stepped away from fighting during the time that he was gone from MMA, competing in three different boxing bouts.
Aldo came back this weekend with a win over a highly respectable name in the division. Martinez entered Saturday on a six-fight winning streak, breaking into the 135-pound rankings after finishing names like Adrian Yanez and Cub Swanson.
As for what’s next for Aldo, the MMA legend said “this wasn’t going to be my last fight.” The plan going forward is for him to sit down with UFC’s top names and “see where it goes.”
Anthony Smith silences doubters with quick win
Former title challenger Anthony Smith scored a massive upset, handing Vitor Petrino his first pro loss with a sudden guillotine choke submission in the first round.
Smith caught Petrino with the choke while being on the receiving end of a takedown early in the fight. This choke was deep and had Petrino in trouble immediately. It didn’t take long for a trapped Petrino to tap out, ending his run as an undefeated light heavyweight.
“I’m a big Vitor Petrino fan … [But at] the end of the day, there’s levels to this s***,” said Smith said in his post-fight interview.
Sportsbooks saw Smith as a huge underdog, putting him as high as +400. He was coming back after suffering a finish loss against Khalil Rountree Jr. late last year, a fight that was one of his three losses since 2022.
Petrino had yet to lose through four previous UFC bouts, previously beating Tyson Pedro among many others since his 2023 promotional debut.
Another quick win gets added onto Michel Pereira’s record
Michel Pereira extended his winning streak with a 54-second victory, putting away Ihor Potieria with a guillotine choke after lighting him up with shots.
Pereira rocked Potieria just seconds into the fight, scoring a left jab that dropped the Ukrainian fighter. Pereira, often a showman, went to the ground with a backflip onto Potieria. This backflip caused some controversy afterward, as some argued that one of his legs collided with the head of Potieria on the way down. Whether or not the shot was substantial, it didn’t end up causing a no contest or disqualification for Pereira.
As the fight found its way back to the feet, Pereira had Potieria trapped with a guillotine choke. This submission caused Potieria to tap out and put him out seconds later, causing him to come crashing down to the canvas.
Pereira has now put together an impressive eight wins since 2020. His last three appearances have all been quick wins, also stopping Michal Oleksiejczuk and Andre Petroski in just over a minute each.
Potieria was a short-notice opponent for Pereira this weekend, getting booked for the matchup after original opponent Makhmud Muradov withdrew. Potieria was listed as a huge underdog for this fight, entering with a promotional record of just two wins and three losses.
Caio Borralho puts Paul Craig away with left hand, calls for Jared Cannonier fight
Caio Borralho added another impressive win to his rise up the middleweight rankings on Saturday night, connecting with a hard left cross to stop Paul Craig in the second round.
Borralho charged forward with a series of punches nearly halfway into the fight, scoring with a cross along the way that floored Craig and caused the referee to swoop in.
The punch that dropped Craig was not unlike what viewers had seen in prior minutes. Borralho connected with many other significant blows earlier in the bout. Craig was able to consume these strikes but also was clearly falling behind in the fight due to them. Eventually, the punches became too much for the Scottish vet.
Over the past few years, Borralho has developed an incredibly impressive run in UFC’s 185-pound division. Saturday was his sixth win since joining the promotion, with prior fights against Abus Magomedov and Makhmud Muradov as part of the run as well. Somewhat of a record was broken for Borralho, as his quickest win yet since joining the promotion was set when he faced Craig.
After his fight, Borralho called for a top-five fighter in the division. In particular, he asked for a fight against former title challenger Jared Cannonier, who is currently placed fourth in the division.
“You’re a scary dude, but I want to test myself against you,” Borralho said about Cannonier in his post-fight interview.
Craig, who has a significant underdog heading into this fight, has now lost four of his last five bouts. His defeats have come against some of the top names at middleweight and his former division of light heavyweight, losing fights to Brendan Allen and Johnny Walker.
Brazil goes six for eight on prelims
It wasn’t too bad of a night for Brazil. Overall, they went 10 for 13, and most importantly champ Pantoja remained on top of the flyweight division. Here’s a quick rundown of the prelims, where Brazil walked away with six wins through eight fights.
Joanderson Brito scored an incredibly rare win, as a cut to his opponent’s leg caused the fight to suddenly end in the second round. A kick to the leg of Jack Shore opened a deep cut during the bout, causing a break in the action during the second round. The cageside doctor, who was able to fit an index finger inside the cut, decided that Shore couldn’t continue. The fight earned Brito his fifth consecutive UFC win via finish, adding to a streak that also has previous wins over Jonathan Pearce and Andre Fili.
Iasmin Lucindo secured a spot on the strawweight rankings in her prelim appearance, putting together a solid three-round performance against veteran Karolina Kowalkiewicz for a scorecard win. Kowalkiewicz came into this weekend with the longest UFC winning streak of her career, having put together four victories since 2022. Since Kowalkiewicz was ranked 13th as of this fight, it is expected that Lucindo will find herself somewhere in the top 15 next week.
Myktybek Orolbai picked up a hard-fought second UFC win on Saturday night, out-working Elves Brener on the feet for a unanimous decision victory. While Orolbai did damage with his strikes early on, a late point deduction due to grabbing the fence and brief moments of success from Brener made the result a little closer for the Kyrgyzstan fighter. Orolbai was returning after having a strong debut last November, submitting Uros Medic with a neck crank. Brener entered this weekend with the momentum of three previous UFC victories.
Drakkar Klose kept his run at lightweight alive in a nailbiter, beating Joaquim Silva in a unanimous decision result. Klose used his stand-up skills and clinch work to gain an early lead on Silva, but struggled later in the fight once the Brazilian vet started to piece together his own shots. In the end, he did enough to add a fourth win to his ongoing streak at lightweight, which also includes a rare slam knockout against Joe Solecki from last year.
Mauricio Ruffy had a stellar showing for his UFC debut, piecing up Jamie Mullarkey for a first-round finish. A series of strong shots from Ruffy came to an end after a right hand dropped Mullarkey, causing the referee to stop the fight. Saturday’s win for Ruffy added to his career-long streak of winning fights strictly via finish, putting away a total of 10 fighters before the final bell.
Dione Barbosa had a tough first fight in the UFC, gaining a lead on scorecards and hanging onto it against Ernesta Kareckaite. The fight became close near the end, as Kareckaite gained momentum on the feet and made the bout harder to score. Barbosa now has a four-fight winning streak, including a Dana White’s Contender Series with and two previous LFA appearances. Kareckaite was coming off a Contender Series victory over Carli Judice from last September.
Ismael Bonfim bounced back from a rough 2023 with a strong three-round performance over veteran Vinc Pichel, out-landing him on the feet to earn a unanimous decision win. Bonfim came forward with big hooks to the head that backed up and overwhelmed Pichel. The Brazilian talent was coming back after suffering his first UFC loss last year, getting submitted in the first round by Benoit Saint-Denis. The fight was Pichel’s first appearance since an April 2022 loss to Mark Madsen. He is now on a two-fight skid for the first time in his entire career.
Alessandro Costa kicked off (pun intended) the night with a win for Brazil, getting Kevin Borjas to the ground in the second round with kicks and then finishing the fight with punches. Leg kicks from Costa visibly wobbled Borjas numerous times in the second frame and eventually caused him to fall to the mat, allowing Costa to move into full mount on the ground and land shots until the referee stopped the fight. The win was a bounce back for Costa after losing to Steve Erceg last year. Borjas is now winless through two UFC appearances.
Quick results
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 11:00PM BRT) (PPV)
Bout 13: Alexandre Pantoja def. Steve Erceg via Decision, Unanimous (UFC Flyweight Championship)
Bout 12: Jose Aldo def. Jonathan Martinez via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Anthony Smith def. Vitor Petrino via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 2:00)
Bout 10: Michel Pereira def. Ihor Potieria via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 0:54)
Bout 9: Caio Borralho def. Paul Craig via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:10)
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BRT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 8: Joanderson Brito def. Jack Shore via TKO, Doctor Stoppage (RD 2, 3:35)
Bout 7: Iasmin Lucindo def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Myktybek Orolbai def. Elves Brener via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Drakkar Klose def. Joaquim Silva via Decision, Unanimous
Early Prelims (6:00PM EDT / 7:00PM BRT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 4: Mauricio Ruffy def. Jamie Mullarkey via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:42)
Bout 3: Dione Barbosa def. Ernesta Kareckaite via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Ismael Bonfim def. Vinc Pichel via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Alessandro Costa def. Kevin Borjas via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:35)
