I don’t even like Michael Chandler and I was rooting for him to get a knockout win here. That’s how annoying his opponent is. “Whether you hate him or love him,” Joe Rogan declares, “all eyes are on Paddy Pimblett when he fights.” The more he wins, the truer that statement becomes. Chandler is his toughest foe yet and he makes relatively easy work of him without so much as a scratch. Oh well. Maybe next time.
my rating : 4 of 5
2025
The Intuit Dome screen erroneously lists Jamahal Hill as having one loss at the start of this bout, but this is his third. That it comes via TKO after making excuses for his previous knockout; Alex Pereira’s bad sportsmanship after a confusing pause in action by Herb Dean was to blame; will only add more salt to his wounds; namely a swollen eye and busted nose.
Not that it isn’t a close fight. My score card actually favored Hill, despite his face telling a different tale, up until the ending sequence. That bit begins in Round 3 when he’s floored by a left/right combination he’s not able to recover from. Jiří Procházka fighting for a cancer patient in the crowd makes his victory, in contrast to Hill’s salt, that much sweeter.
my rating : 4 of 5
2025
2024 April 13
espn.com
Jon Jones should’ve retired here. It would’ve been a fairytale ending to his nearly impeccable career. Instead he retires his opponent; heavyweight “goat” Stipe Miocic; and does “the Trump dance” as the former/future president cheers him on from the audience. It is perhaps the event’s most endearing moment and, make no mistake about it, those two; Jon Jones and Donald Trump; are the stars of the show.
The most entertaining fight honor goes to Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler as expected. Paul Craig and James Llontop do much better than expected, putting a damper on the hype of their prospect victors. The “overrated” Bo Nickal actually gets booed by the finicky crowd. Viviane Araújo also defeats a tired Karine Silva, though Silva scores points on my card every time she lays on her back with her legs open.
my rating : 4 of 5
2024 November 16
2023 January 21
ufc.com
If we’re including all the Prelims, 300 is indeed the most stacked UFC event ever. It’s the main card that disappointed fans around the world, particularly the main event. It should’ve been Conor McGregor versus Michael Chandler. An Israel Adesanya title bout against Dricus Du Plessis or Alex Pereira would’ve also sufficed. The announcement of Pereira versus Jamahal Hill was, at best, anticlimactic.
It was also odd to include Bo Nickal; a bout that, though more competitive than expected, rather because of it, disappoints even the prospect himself. Still he remains undefeated. It gets better from there as Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira provide perhaps the best fight of the night. The best moment happens in the next bout as BMF Max Holloway ends Justin Gaethje in spectacular fashion.
The other best moment; Zhang choking Yan earns an honorable mention; is Jamahal Hill getting knocked out. He claimed, in a prefight interview, that Pereira “is not on my level”. He’s right in a sense as the bout ends with Pereira standing and Hill on his ass. The champ further marks his legacy as a future goat. Hopefully the aforementioned Adesanya trilogy (pentalogy) happens eventually.
my rating : 4 of 5
2024
2024
2023
espn.com
Without even factoring in Robbie Lawler’s “perfect” career-ending victory over Niko Price or any of the other impressive knockouts from the Prelims, UFC 290 stands as one of their better events. Newcomer Bo Nickal actually matches Lawler by taking out his opponent in the same amount of time. A revamped Dan Hooker also impresses with a split decision victory over Jalin Turner.
The biggest surprise of the night, other than Dana White arriving with President Trump, is Robert Whittaker’s second-round TKO loss to Dricus Du Plessis, though it’s no surprise to Du Plessis. He predicted he’d do exactly what he did. Still it’s odd seeing Whittaker lose to someone other than Israel Adesanya, who promotes his upcoming bout with Du Plessis with a post-fight encounter.
What ends up being perhaps the best fight is the one I cared the least about; Flyweight Champion Brandon Moreno putting his belt on the line against Alexandre Pantoja. Pantoja beat him twice before and does it again here, but they’re well matched. The main event goes about as I expected with Alexander Volkanovski retaining his (Featherweight) title relatively easily against Yair Rodríguez.
my rating : 4 of 5
2023
2023
2022
ufc.com
2021
ufc.com | bt.com