5 undercard fighters who could steal the show at UFC 299
The UFC heads to Miami this weekend for a major pay-per-view event that looks like it could be an all-time classic.
UFC 299: Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera 2 features a bantamweight title headliner as well as an epic-sounding co-main between Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint Denis, but the overall card is remarkably deep.
This means that there are several fighters on the undercard – including the preliminary bouts – who could shine. With that in mind, here are five undercard fighters who could steal the show at UFC 299.
#5. Michel Pereira – UFC middleweight contender
UFC 299’s card is so deep that Michel Pereira, who has often been a featured fighter on the promotion’s Fight Night cards, is buried deep in the untelevised preliminary portion of the night.
Were this card shallower, then this decision would be a baffling one. However, even though it’s a justified call, ‘Demolidor’ still has the potential to steal the show this weekend.
While he’s no longer as wild as he was in his early days, when he’d casually flip around the octagon without a care for what his opponent could do in return, the Brazilian is still hugely entertaining.
Pereira is still willing to throw low-percentage shots like other fighters would throw jabs, and he’s quietly gone on a fantastic run in recent years. He’s won his last seven bouts and hasn’t lost since his controversial disqualification against Diego Sanchez in 2020.
More to the point, while he became known for tiring easily at 170 pounds, his recent move to 185 pounds means he’s much more likely to be able to keep a torrid pace for three rounds.
His last bout saw him dispatch the dangerous Andre Petroski with a flurry of punches in just a minute. And given that his foe this weekend, Michal Oleksiejczuk, is largely plodding and looks hittable, he could well repeat the feat in violent fashion in Miami, gaining plenty of new fans in the process.
#4. Maycee Barber – UFC flyweight contender
Some fighters set to compete at UFC 299 are not too far away from a title shot, but, arguably, flyweight contender Maycee Barber is closer than most.
Currently ranked at No.6 in the 125-pound division, ‘The Future’ is set to face off with former title challenger Katlyn Cerminara (formerly Chookagian) this weekend. It’s arguably her biggest challenge yet, but if she can win, it would be huge for her career.
Still only 25 years old, Barber can no longer become the youngest titleholder in UFC history, as she once claimed she’d become.
However, she is on a tremendous run right now, winning her last five bouts in a row. More importantly, her last showing, against the highly-rated Amanda Ribas, saw her produce a tremendous performance as she claimed a second-round TKO.
Barber’s skills have come on in leaps and bounds since her octagon debut in 2018. Back then she was simply a brutal physical force whose aggression could often overwhelm more skilled foes.
Now, though, she’s greatly improved both her striking and grappling but has been able to retain her pace and aggression – making her very dangerous.
Cerminara is a highly technical striker who loves to pick her foes off from a distance, and so she should provide ‘The Future’ with a huge test. However, ‘Blonde Fighter’ has also been taken out before by a similarly aggressive fighter in Jessica Andrade, and it’s the Brazilian who Barber will look to imitate this weekend.
If she can do that, then she could jump to the front of the queue for a shot at current UFC flyweight queen Alexa Grasso and could steal the show in the process.
#3. Jailton Almeida – UFC heavyweight contender
Despite the inactivity of aging current champion Jon Jones, the UFC’s heavyweight division is in an exciting place right now, with a young interim titleholder in Tom Aspinall and some other dangerous prospects climbing the ladder.
One such prospect is Brazilian Jailton Almeida, who has put together a run of six straight octagon wins to take his overall MMA record to 20-2. These wins have seen him climb to No.7 in the heavyweight rankings.
While ‘Malhadinho’ didn’t exactly thrill in his decision win over Derrick Lewis, his prior five wins all came via finish, including a submission of Jairzinho Rozenstruik last May.
This weekend will see him tested differently. Thus far, Almeida has been able to outgrapple all of his heavyweight foes, but that might not be the case with hulking wrestler Curtis Blaydes.
If ‘Razor’ can stay off his back, then Almeida will be forced to strike with him. It’s an area we haven’t seen him in all that often, but with seven KO’s or TKO’s on his record, he’s a heavy hitter.
Given that Blaydes doesn’t have the best chin, if Almeida can crack him and take him out, he could well move into the top five.
When you consider that Jones and Stipe Miocic may not be around for too much longer, then that ranking would mean he wouldn’t be far from a title shot. Therefore, if he gets back to his winning ways this weekend, he could steal the show.
#2. Jack Della Maddalena – UFC welterweight contender
Once labeled as a future UFC welterweight champion by Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, Jack Della Maddalena is set to face the toughest test of his career to date this weekend.
The Australian is set to face off with former title challenger Gilbert Burns, a fighter who has lost just three of his last ten fights since moving to 170 pounds in 2019.
Those three losses came at the hands of Kamaru Usman, Khamzat Chimaev, and Belal Muhammad – so if Maddalena can follow in their footsteps, it’ll be huge for him.
To do that, though, he’ll have to produce a better showing than he’s done in his last two fights. He edged Kevin Holland in a close call in September, and before that, won a controversial split decision over the unheralded Bassil Hafez.
However, it’s worth noting that Maddalena fought Hafez a week after cutting weight for an eventually canceled fight with Josiah Harrell, something that likely damaged his prospects of a strong performance.
At his best, the Aussie has rapid hands, clean boxing technique, and plenty of punching power to go with it. If he’s going to take out the durable Burns, who is a top-class grappler, then it’s likely that he’ll do it by knockout.
Maddalena has nothing to lose here, as Burns should be the favorite in this bout. If he wins, though, he may do so in spectacular fashion and is likely to steal the show in the process.
#1. Michael ‘Venom’ Page – UFC welterweight contender
If he produces a performance up there with the best of his career, then the fighter most likely to steal the show at UFC 299 is former Bellator star Michael ‘Venom’ Page.
The UK-based striker will be making his octagon debut this weekend against Kevin Holland, and to tell the truth, it’s been a long time coming.
Once considered one of the hottest prospects in MMA, Page received a huge amount of hype thanks to a flashy striking style that was often compared to legendary UFC middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva.
That was almost a decade ago, though, and while he’s won all but two of his fights since, he’s often been criticized for not fighting high-level opponents for the most part.
That will change this weekend, though. Holland isn’t a top-five ranked welterweight, but he’s very tough, has skills in all areas and few weaknesses, and could be seen as Page’s toughest-ever opponent.
If ‘Venom’ can use his flashy striking skills to take out ‘The Trailblazer’, it’ll be hard not to get excited about his future in the UFC. If he can produce the kind of finish he deployed against the likes of Evangelista Santos and Shinsho Anzai, he could end up being the fighter everyone is talking about after this weekend, too.