UFC 300 results: Biggest winners, losers from ‘Pereira vs. Hill’ last night

UFC 300 absolutely blew the roof off T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, last night (Sat., April 13, 2024) in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the historic card providing fans with an exciting night of fights. In the main event of the evening, Alex Pereira retained his Light Heavyweight title, disposing of Jamahal Hill in the first round (highlights). In the co-headlining act, Zhang Weili was able to out-last a very tough opponent in Yan Xiaonan to retain her women’s Strawweight strap after 25 minutes of action. In addition, Max Holloway delivered one of the best knockouts ever, putting Justin Gaethje to sleep with only one second remaining in the fight to win the “BMF” title.

Biggest Winner: Max Holloway

“Blessed” once again proved the reason(s) he is one of the most beloved fighters in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA), and why he is truly one of the “baddest motherf—kers” on the planet. He delivered perhaps the best performance of his storied combat career — even dating back to the days when he ruled the Featherweight division — blasting Gaethje with laser-accurate strikes all night, including a spinning back kick that shattered the nose of “The Highlight.”

After that, Holloway pretty much picked his shots and landed whenever he wanted, but the way he ended the fight is stuff of legend. As the clock was winding down on the fight and already up on the scorecards with a guaranteed unanimous decision win coming his way, the Hawaiian striker demanded that Gaethje meet him in the middle of the cage to end the fight with an all-out striking exchange. Gaethje, battered and broken down, obliged and the two men went toe-to-toe, allowing Holloway to score a buzzer-beating knockout win after connecting with an absolute bomb of an overhand right that put his foe out for the count with one second remaining (video replay here).

Dana White and Co. couldn’t script it any better. With the win, Holloway absolutely locked down a title fight against 145-pound champion, Ilia Topuria, next. He also secured himself another pair of post-fight bonus awards, this time for a massive $600,000 payday.

Runner Up: Alex Pereira

These top two spots could have gone either way, but Pereira once again demonstrated that he is one of the scariest monsters in MMA, vanquishing a former champion in an instant. And once again, he made it look easy, barely breaking a sweat. It’s truly amazing to see the type of run he’s had in such a short period of time, and now that he has his eyes on Heavyweight, he could re-write the history books forever. For now, “Poatan” can bask in the glory of his latest spine-tingling knockout win ... and perhaps get ready to headline UFC 301 in a few weeks?

Honorable Mention: Kayla Harrison

Harrison left little doubt — she is one of the most promising UFC acquisitions in some time. And she made the most of the opportunity, crushing Holly Holm within the distance. She made it look easy, too, dictating the pace of the fight and not allowing “The Preacher’s Daughter” to use her striking. Once it got up close and personal, Harrison was quick to take her for a ride thanks to her world-class Judo skills. Once she got on top of Holm, Harrison utilized her elbows to bust up her face, eventually leading to the fight-ending rear-naked choke in round two (see it again here). With the win, Harrison proved she can hang with the best on the biggest stage of them all, and will secure herself a spot in the Top 5 in the division come next week. And perhaps a future fight against Amanda Nunes? Yes, please!

Biggest Loser: Jamahal Hill

Rarely does a fighter talk so much smack and not come close to backing up at least some of it, but Hill was that guy. From the jump, Pereira made it clear that he was going to dictate the pace, walking down the former champion and waiting for an opening. And his gameplan worked to perfection, sneaking in a left hook that floored “Sweet Dreams” and then delivering a few nasty follow up shots to end his night early. That is hardly the performance Hill — or anyone else, for that matter — expected, but it goes to show just how much of a talent Pereira is. “Sweet Dreams” now faces a tough road ahead to climb back into a title fight, especially after Jiri Prochazka’s spectacular knockout win over Aleksandar Rakic on the undercard.

Runner (s) Up: Holly Holm, Calvin Kattar

Holm had a huge opportunity to spoil Harrison’s Octagon debut and steal her shine. Instead, she fell flat, tapping to the former Professional Fighters League (PFL) standout via rear-naked choke in round two (watch highlights). Holm never really got much going, and never let her fists fly as much as she should have liked. Granted, Harrison is no joke, but the former professional boxing champion let a huge opportunity slip through her fingers, and now drops to a sub-par 1-2-1 in her last four fights inside the Octagon. Where Holm goes from here is hard to tell, but she will have a hard time climbing her way back to a title fight based on her last few performances. Retirement, perhaps?

Kattar had a huge opportunity to re-gain some momentum after suffering back-to-back losses. Instead, he coughed up an absolute dud, barely doing anything against former Bantamweight roost-ruler, Aljamain Sterling, who was making his 145-pound debut. For 15 minutes, “Funkmaster” implemented his gameplan perfectly to frustrate his foe, never giving him the chance to get anything going, which ultimately led to a tepid unanimous decision defeat. A win over a former champion such as Sterling would’ve given Kattar a huge boost, instead he suffered his third straight defeat, sending him tumbling further down the 145-pound ladder.

For complete UFC 300 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.