It is finally here. The UFC is back in the party capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro for a pay-per-view event after over a year since UFC 283, which saw the Brazilian Glover Teixeira get mauled for five rounds in a title bout at the hands of Jamahal Hill, who emerged as the new UFC light heavyweight champion. In addition, the card also featured a flyweight title bout between then-champion Brandon Moreno and Brazilian former champion Deiveson Figueiredo.

This time around, the card will be headlined by a flyweight title bout between Alexandre Pantoja and #10-ranked Steve Erceg. Unlike last time, the card will feature only one title bout. But, UFC 301 will feature some of the best and most promising Brazilian fighters on the card.

UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg background

The UFC will return to Brazil for the second time in six months (UFC Sao Paulo was in November 2023) in a card that features a Brazilian fighter in all twelve of the bouts on the card. The card will be headlined by a contest between Brazilian flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and Australian #10-ranked Steve Erceg.

In addition, the co-main event will see former champion Jose Aldo make his return to the UFC Octagon in a bantamweight bout against Jonathan Martinez. While light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira had called for a heavyweight bout on the card following his UFC 300 victory, he is not featured on the card.

UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg full card

The Main Card:

Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg (flyweight title bout)

Jonathan Martinez vs. Jose Aldo (bantamweight)

Anthony Smith vs. Vitor Petrino (light heavyweight)

Michel Pereira vs. Ihor Potieria (middleweight)

Paul Crag vs. Caio Borrahlo (middleweight)

The Prelims:

Jack Shore vs. Joanderson Brito (featherweight)

Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo (women's strawweight)

Elves Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai (lightweight)

Jean Silva vs. William Gomis (featherweight)

Early Prelims:

Joaquim Silva vs. Drakkar Klose (lightweight)

Mauricio Ruffy vs. Jamie Mullarkey (lightweight)

Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite (women's flyweight)

Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel (lightweight)

Alessandro Costa  vs. Kevin Borjas (flyweight)

Co-main event of UFC 301: Pantoja vs Erceg- Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Martinez

Jose Aldo, the legendary former featherweight champion will take on #13 ranked Jonathan Martinez in a bantamweight bout. Aldo, coming back to the promotion after a brief retirement, is unranked at the bantamweight division, and along with breaking into the top 15, will be hoping to remind the fans of just why he is considered one of the greatest featherweights of all time.

Martinez, on the other hand, will be looking to make a statement and get some notoriety associated with his name by defeating the Brazilian UFC legend. While the American is almost a decade younger than Aldo, and thus, will be fancying his chances against the vet, Aldo can still hang with the top guys in the division, as he has shown in his last few fights against top bantamweight contenders.

Main event of UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg

Alexandre Pantoja will defend his title for the second time, this time on his home turf at UFC 301. His opponent will be #10 ranked Steve Erceg, who has only fought three times in the promotion so far. However, 'The Cannibal' was looking for a "fresh" face for his next bout, and 'Astroboy's spectacular victory over Matt Schnell in March convinced Pantoja the newcomer deserved to fight for the title.

While Erceg is the underdog going into the bout and has been compared to famous sitcom character 'Michael Scott' due to his harmless, middle-aged dad looks, in his case, looks definitely are deceiving. The Aussie is a submission specialist and has won all but one of his fights in his MMA career. Pantoja, of course, also likes to take his opponents down and submit them, which along with his precise, high-volume, and nimble striking makes him a formidable challenge.

UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg - Fighters’ Record, Stats, Previous Fights

Alexandre Pantoja  (27-5-0) comes into UFC 301 on a five-fight win streak, having defeated Brandon Royval in his last fight on UFC 296. Steve Erceg (12-1-0), on the other hand, is on an eleven fight win-streak (including three in the UFC).

Jose Aldo (31-8-0), a veteran of the UFC, lost his last fight to bantamweight title contender Merab Dvalishvili via a unanimous decision at their UFC 278 contest two years ago. His opponent, Jonathan Martinez, on the other hand, is on a six-fight win-streak, and knocked out Adrian Yanes in his last fight in October last year.

Anthony Smith (37-19-0), another UFC veteran, who has faced the likes of Jon Jones, Alexander Gustaffson, and Glover Teixeira, has lost three of his last four fights. He comes into UFC 301 having lost to Khalil Rountree via a knockout at their Fight Night co-main event bout in December '23. He will face undefeated Brazilian light heavyweight Vitor Petrino (11-0-0), who defeated Tyson Pedro in March this year.

In the second contest of the main card, Michel Pereira (30-11-0) will take on Ihor Potieria (21-5-0) in a middleweight bout. Pereira comes into the bout on a seven-fight win streak, including a submission victory over Michal Oleksiejczuk in their UFC 299 clash in March. Potieria, on the other hand, has lost three of his last five fights but managed to win a unanimous decision over Robert Bryczek in his last Octagon appearance in February this year.

The main card opener will feature Paul Craig (17-7) taking on Brazil's Caio Borralho (15-1). Borralho is coming into the fight on a 14-fight win streak, and on a 5-0 run in the UFC. 'Bearjew' is 2-3 in his last 5, losing to Brendan Allen in his last fight in November 2023.

Location, Venue, Date, Time of UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja vs Steve Erceg

Certainly! UFC 301 will take place at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 4, 2024. The early prelims are scheduled to start at 3:00 PM ET and 12:00 PM PST, while the main event is expected to take place around 7:00 PM ET and 4:00 PM PST. Don’t miss this exciting event featuring top fighters from around the world!

Weigh-Ins, Pre-Fight, and Post-Fight Press Conference

The weigh-ins will, of course, take place two days before the event, i.e., on May 2 with the pre-fight press conference scheduled for one day before the fight (May 3), as usual. The post-fight press conference, of course, will be held after the event concludes on May 4.

Past UFC events in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

While the UFC has held ten PPV events in the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro (UFC 283, UFC 237, UFC 224, UFC 212, UFC 190, UFC 179, UFC 163, UFC 153, UFC 142, and UFC 134), UFC 301 is different in one respect. All of these previous events have been at either the Jeunesse Arena, the HSBC Arena, or the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho indoor arena. But, UFC 301 will be the first time an event will be held in the Farmasi Arena.

Commentary team of UFC 301 - Will Joe Rogan be there?

As of now, there have not been any announcements yet about the commentary team for UFC 301. However, Jon Anik, as usual is expected to call the fight as the primary play-by-play commentator, along with Daniel Cormier, as they do for UFC PPV events.

However, fan-favorite Joe Rogan is almost definitely not going to join them in the commentary booth. This is because the JRE podcast host has decided to no longer travel overseas to call UFC events as he loses money when he does so since he cannot do his podcast or stand-up comedy shows when overseas.

Where to Watch? UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg

In the United States, UFC 301 early prelims will be available on UFC Fight Pass, ESPN2, and ESPN+. The prelims, on the other hand will be available on ESPN2 and ESPN+. To watch the main card, however, one will have to purchase the $79.99 PPV from the ESPN+ app.