UFC 300 is just three months away, and the matchmakers are still searching for a main event worthy of the landmark number.
That’s not to say that UFC execs Dana White, Mick Maynard, and Sean Shelby have been sitting on their laurels. The headliners for the first three pay-per-views of 2024 are already covered, giving plans plenty to look forward to. But when it comes to their third century event, the picture at the top of the card is still unclear.
Some of the promotion’s most reliable draws appear to be off the table, with Conor McGregor announcing that he’s fighting Michael Chandler in June, and Jon Jones having no timetable for his return from a pectoral injury. So who is even available to step into the spotlight at UFC 300?
MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee, Steven Marrocco, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew pull their chairs up to the roundtable to take their best guess as to what two names we’ll see on the marquee ahead of April 13.
Marrocco: Fellas, I know these two have been out of the game for quite some time now. I just think the timing on this makes sense for both of them, and with a good college try, Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano could be ready for the fight we never got to see but always kinda wanted to.
After years of ups and a lot of downs with WWE, Rousey is no longer with the big dog in pro wrestling. I strongly doubt her deal with Ring of Honor would preclude a UFC return, and Carano is just the kind of opponent that would lure her back to the octagon. Things ended pretty much the worst way possible at the end of her UFC run. Fighting Carano? There’s someone who hasn’t fought in over a decade, has concussed exactly one person in her three-year MMA career (Rosi Sexton, in 2006), and still offers a modicum of star appeal to be a good B-side for the pay-per-view. The UFC tried to make it happen once. Why not again?
For Carano, Rousey offers a chance less to claim a spot atop women’s MMA but to resuscitate her flagging entertainment career and stick it to all those libs who cancelled her on The Mandalorian. Sure, she’s been inactive as an athlete far longer than Rousey, but get her back into Xtreme Couture with Eric Nicksick, give her the royal treatment at the UFC PI, she could feasibly be ready for a fight. She’s facing a huge uphill battle. But so is Rousey, right? And Rousey quite clearly isn’t nuts about getting punched in the face, so that could be her chance, right?
The UFC would love to put this on, if for no other reason than its tricentennial needs all the star power it can get to goose the numbers. I know it’s insane, but it also kind of makes sense. Right?
Martin: With Conor McGregor not returning until June, UFC 300 needs a headliner, and options are honestly limited right now. Islam Makhachev honors Ramadan from March into April, which seemingly eliminates him from the conversation. Leon Edwards appears likely to defend his belt against Belal Muhammad for the April card, but it’s tough to imagine that as a main event. So what’s available that would sell pay-per-views?
How about a long awaited trilogy between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya … this time with the UFC light heavyweight title on the line?
Deserved or not, the third fight would do big business, and it almost feels inevitable considering the rich history these two already share. Pereira beat Adesanya twice in kickboxing — including a vicious highlight-reel knockout in their rematch — and then pulled off an improbable comeback to become UFC middleweight champion. Of course, Adesanya exacted his revenge with the 2023 “Knockout of the Year,” and he capped off the night with one of the most memorable post-fight celebrations in recent history.
Despite losing to Sean Strickland in a massive upset, Adesanya was promised an immediate title shot upon his return. But who’s to say that has to happen at 185 pounds? Some fights are bigger than just recent wins and losses, and necessity is the mother of invention. So why not conclude this trilogy at a historic event with Pereira and Adesanya throwing down one last time?
This fight may not have been the first choice to headline UFC 300, but it’s the matchup available that makes the most sense.
Lee: Come along on a journey with me, won’t you?
It’s true, several notable UFC names have already been booked for the coming months, to the point that it feels like the promotion has painted itself into a corner with the big three-double-oh on its way. But keep in mind, we’re talking about the UFC, an organization that has proven time and time again that it can only fall upward. You don’t need such silly things as “a plan” when the plan will eventually form itself based on how the cards fall.
Case in point.
Alexander Volkanovski beats Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February. It’s a tough test against an undefeated fighter that many see as the next big thing at featherweight, but “The Great” takes care of business to notch his sixth straight title defense. He’s banged up, but still healthy enough to do something crazy. Put a pin on that.
The next month, Sean O’Malley takes out Marlon Vera in a rematch at UFC 299 that is disappointingly brief. “Chito” has the tools to beat the bantamweight champ, and he carried bragging rights from their previous fight heading into this one, but O’Malley stuns everyone with a first-round knockout of his rival. He takes the mic and, with UFC 300 still needing a must-see headliner (let’s say a couple of title fights have already been booked, but nothing earth-shattering), he calls for Volkanovski to make a quick turnaround and meet him at T-Mobile in Las Vegas on April 13 for the featherweight belt.
Pandemonium. Social media in a frenzy. Dogs and cats living together.
Would Volkanovski even accept such a fight under these circumstances? Of course, he would, he’s done it before after all. He’s built for this. He’s got that dog in him.
Just like that, UFC 300 can tout what would likely end up being the biggest main event of 2024. Volkanovski looking to add to his legacy, with O’Malley chasing two-division champ status. As with so many of the UFC’s most memorable moments, this one writes itself.
Meshew: First of all, I hate that Steven has bested me. It takes a lot to out-take me in situations like this, but Marrocco’s Modern Life has done it in a fashion that I have no choice but to respect, because I can’t go over the top of it. There is no re-raise available to me, so instead, I will sheepishly be the voice of reason for this article.
The UFC 300 main event will be — sigh — Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad.
I know. I hate myself for even writing it. UFC 300 headlined by that fight. It’s sickening. But when you think about it, it makes too much sense. There are really not a lot of other alternatives available out there, and if you look back at UFC 200, the same sort of thing happened. Miesha Tate headlined that card with a title defense against Amanda Nunes who, at the time, not a single person cared about. That’s a better fight in hindsight than it was at the time, and even still it’s not exactly gangbusters. But this is what happens in situations like this.
The UFC believes (probably correctly) that 300 will sell because it’s 300, and so they’re not going to invest their biggest stars into the product. Those fighters can carry separate PPVs. Instead, we’re likely to get a couple title fights and one mercenary, like they did with Brock Lesnar. And based on recent events, my best guess is that the mercenary will be Jorge Masvidal, perhaps in a rematch with Ben Askren. Leon will fight Belal in the main event (ugh, still sends shivers down my spine, two of the 30 best fighters in the world headlining UFC 300, the horror!), and we’ll probably get like, Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan in the co-main. Then they’ll fill the rest of the card out with all name fighters, and that’ll be it. I had briefly hoped for Adesanya vs. Dricus du Plessis (after he wins the middleweight title), but the timeline just doesn’t seem to fit. So here we are. Underwhelming to the Nth degree.
Congratulations, Steven, you’ve broken me.
This story originally appeared on MMA fighting