5 questions that could be answered at UFC 300
With just over a week to go now before UFC 300, the biggest event of 2024 is looming large in the minds of MMA fans.
UFC 300 has many thrilling fights on tap, and in those fights, some major questions are likely to be answered. As always in the octagon, there's every chance that the answers we get next weekend could create even more questions, but that's MMA for you.
Here are five questions that could be answered at UFC 300.
#5. Can Weili Zhang and Yan Xiaonan avoid being overshadowed?
UFC 300 features three title fights. While fans are salivating over Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill and Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway, the strawweight title bout between Weili Zhang and Yan Xiaonan is going under the radar.
However, the fight, which is the first UFC title bout to pit two Chinese fighters against one another, should be an exciting one.
Zhang is probably one of the best female fighters in octagon history at this stage, with only Rose Namajunas getting the better of her. Outside of that, she has whitewashed the likes of Jessica Andrade, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Carla Esparza.
Xiaonan, meanwhile, holds victories over Andrade, Mackenzie Dern and Claudia Gadelha and has certainly earned a title shot. Unfortunately, the lack of star power both women hold - particularly in the US - means that fans just aren't paying as much attention to this one.
The big question, then, is whether 'Magnum' and 'Fury' can produce a fight that can avoid being overshadowed by the stacked card around it. It won't be easy, but if we end up with anything close to Zhang's 2020 clash with Jedrzejczyk, the fight could steal the show.
#4. Is Arman Tsarukyan really an elite-level lightweight?
UFC 300's main card features a fight that's being promoted as a lightweight title eliminator. However, while we know all about the title credentials of former champ Charles Oliveira, the same cannot be said of his foe Arman Tsarukyan.
There's definitely no disputing that Tsarukyan has an excellent record. The native of Armenia is 8-2 in the octagon, with his only losses coming to current titleholder Islam Makhachev and fellow top-ten ranked contender Mateusz Gamrot.
However, on the flip side of that, the only truly top level foe Tsarukyan has beaten is Beneil Dariush. That win was undoubtedly a great one, but it comes with a couple of caveats. Firstly, Dariush has always been suceptible to heavy strikers, and, secondly, he was coming off a previous KO loss, coincidentally to Oliveira.
So, how good is Tsarukyan really? It's honestly tough to say. He's clearly a very talented fighter with heavy hands and a suffocating wrestling game, but, equally, he's not all that tested against the elite.
'Do Bronx' is very much elite, having beaten everyone from Justin Gaethje to Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler. For a rising star like Tsarukyan, he'd represent the biggest possible win.
Whether the Armenian can pull it off, though, is another thing entirely. Either way, we will definitely find out next weekend whether Tsarukyan is a genuinely elite-level 155 pound fighter or whether he has bitten off more than he can chew.
#3. Can former UFC champs Sterling and Prochazka rebound?
UFC 300's preliminary card features two former titleholders looking to bounce back from big losses.
Former light heavyweight champ Jiri Prochazka was last seen being stopped by Alex Pereira, while former bantamweight kingpin Aljamain Sterling was knocked out by Sean O'Malley last summer.
Both men have a lot of pressure on them. Sterling is moving up in weight and is set to face a top-10 ranked foe in Calvin Kattar, while Prochazka faces the returning Aleksandar Rakic.
Neither fighter has their back to the wall per se, and both could probably bounce back from a second loss in a row. If that loss were to come in nasty fashion, though, questions would have to be asked.
If 'The Funk Master' and 'BJP' can rebound, though, another shot at gold could lie in their future, particularly for Prochazka.
It's always fascinating to see how a champion looks when they're coming off a big defeat. So the question of how Prochazka and Sterling will look in their return bouts is one of the biggest hanging over next weekend's show.
#2. How will Max Holloway adjust to a run at 155 pounds this time around?
Arguably the most fascinating fight at UFC 300 is the BMF title bout between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway.
Despite the BMF title itself being little more than a gimmick, it's still a five-round clash that pits two of the best and most exciting fighters in the promotion against one another.
However, while everyone knows about the kind of wild violence Gaethje brings to the table, exactly what Holloway is going to bring is a bigger question that needs answering.
At 145 pounds, 'Blessed' is a hurricane of a striker who puts inhuman pressure on his opponents with a suffocating pace and never-ending combinations. However, he has only fought at 155 pounds once before, against Dustin Poirier in 2019, and didn't look at his best in that fight.
The big question, then, is whether the Hawaiian is really ready for a run as a lightweight, or whether this is a one-off deal as it was before.
BMF title aside, Gaethje is one of the best lightweights in the world. If Holloway were to overcome him next weekend, he'd arguably shunt himself to the front of the queue for a shot at 155 pound king Islam Makhachev.
Therefore, this fight is not only a must-see affair for its levels of potential excitement, it's also a pivotal one for the division and for Holloway in general. The questions around 'Blessed' at 155 pounds will hopefully be answered.
#1. Is Alex Pereira on the cusp of becoming a UFC legend?
Any fighter who captures two UFC titles in different weight classes would normally be categorised as a legend of the octagon. However, it's tougher to move Alex Pereira into that kind of rarefied air than it is for other double champs like Henry Cejudo or Jon Jones.
That's because, despite all his accomplishments, it's still tough to look past the idea that he has been handed more opportunities than other fighters might've been given. Realistically, 'Poatan' only received such a quick shot at middleweight gold due to his old rivalry with then-champ Israel Adesanya from their kickboxing days.
At 205 pounds, meanwhile, he was given a crack at the vacant title off the back of a tight win over Jan Blachowicz, largely because Jamahal Hill was absent. So how can 'Poatan' reach that legendary status? A great way to start, naturally, would be by taking out Hill at UFC 300.
If he could do that, he'd have three wins over former light heavyweight champions. Nobody could ever question his credentials at 205 pounds again. As for being a legend of the octagon? It'd be tough to deny him that status too, despite his shorter tenure than some.
If he were to lose, though, it'd become easier to view 'Poatan' as a flash-in-the-pan who found himself in the right place at the right time twice. The question of the Brazilian's standing, then, is hopefully one that will be answered for good next weekend.