UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja defended his 125-pound title on home soil after a crowd-pleasing back-and-forth battle with Australian challenger Steve Erceg at UFC 301.
The pair went head to head for the undisputed flyweight crown at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the Brazilian champion claimed scores of 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 to register the second defence of his title.
Pantoja started well, with his high-octane fighting style putting Erceg on the back foot early. But the first-time challenger, who only made his UFC debut 11 months ago, made the necessary adjustments and came back into the contest in the second stanza.
It set up a thrilling battle as the pair battled it out in a tightly-contested five-round title clash. Pantoja answered Erceg’s strong second round by claiming the ascendency in Round 3, only for Erceg to come storming back again in the fourth.
It meant the final round would be the decider, and Pantoja edged it, due in part to Erceg’s decision to chase late takedowns, rather than use his boxing, during key moments of the final frame.
In the end, it was Pantoja whose hand was raised after all three judges scored the fight in his favour to improve the 34-year-old champion’s record to 28-5. Erceg, meanwhile dropped to 12-2, but based on that performance, it won’t be his last appearance in a UFC title fight.
In the co-main event, former UFC featherweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo made a winning return to the sport with a unanimous decision victory over Jonathan Martinez.
“The King of Rio” received a huge welcome from the crowd as he made came out of retirement to return to the Octagon for the first time since his August 2022 loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278.
And the 37-year-old legend of Brazilian MMA produced a clinical performance to shut out Martinez on the scorecards and earn a unanimous decision victory.
The main card also saw a moment of validation for longtime light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith, who halted the momentum of Brazilian hot prospect Vitor Petrino.
Petrino had earned his spot on the UFC roster with victory on Dana White’s Contender Series back in September 2022, and had reeled off four wins in the space of a year.
Many were predicting the undefeated Petrino to produce a watershed performance against Smith, but the wily American veteran, who had stated pre-fight that he had no intention of being a stepping stone for the Brazilian, showed just why he’s been a threat at 205 pounds for so long as he locked up a guillotine choke to finish Petrino in just two minutes and hand the Brazilian the first defeat of his career.
Also on the main card, Michel Pereira showed that he’s a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division with a quickfire guillotine choke victory of his own, as he submitted Ihor Potieria in just 54 seconds.
And there was another Brazilian victory in the main card opener, as Caio Borralho stopped Paul Craig with punches mid-way through the second round of their middleweight matchup.
UFC 301: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Alexandre Pantoja def. Steve Erceg via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) – for flyweight title
- Jose Aldo def. Jonathan Martinez via unanimous decision (30-37, 30-37, 30-37)
- Anthony Smith def. Vitor Petrino via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:00
- Michel Pereira def. Ihor Potieria via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:54
- Caio Borralho def. Paul Craig via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:10
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Joanderson Brito def. Jack Shore via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 2, 3:35
- Iasmin Lucindo def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Myktbek Orolbai def. Elves Brener via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Drakkar Klose def. Joaquim Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
EARLY PRELIMS
- Mauricio Ruffy def. Jamie Mullarkey via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:42
- Dione Barbosa def. Ernesta Karackaite via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ismael Bonfim def. Vinc Pichel via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Alessandro Costa def. Kevin Borjas via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:35
