The appearance of Alex Pereira at UFC 300 is not beyond the fans' prediction. When he was one of the few champions competing at this event. The surprise belonged to the opponent that Pereira was about to confront Jamahal Hill.
Below are the weighing classes at UFC 300 on April 13, along with the champions who will compete at this event. This list is synthesized by ITHETHAO.vn after the pairs are announced.
Alex Pereira (Light Heavyweight):
Alex Pereira currently holds two UFC championships. Pereira won TKO against Jiri Prochazka in November 2023 to win the championship. This victory helped the Brazilian puncher become the 9th martial artist in the history of UFC winning two different weight classes. Pereira will have the first belt protection against the former Lightweight Jamahal Hill.
Jamahal Hill (Light Heavyweight):
Besides Alex Pereira, Jamahal Hill abandoned the Lightweight championship due to an ankle injury in July 2023. “Sweet Dreams” also revealed that he could only return to play in June 2024. Appearing at UFC 300 made fans worried about his injury.
Jiri Prochazka (Light Heavyweight):
Jiri Prochazka is a former Light Heavyweight champion after he lost to Pereira at UFC 295. Prochazka will face Aleksandar Rakić. Meanwhile, Rakić with a record of 14 wins, 3 losses and achieved the title of 'Fight of the Night'.
Zhang Weili (Strawweight):
Zhang Weili currently holds the Strawweight championship belt and has twice defended this title. Zhang used to play for Kunlun Fight (KLF), where she was the KLF female strawweight champion. As of September 2023, Chinese boxers ranked second in the weight rankings of women at UFC. She was about to have a battle to protect the belt against fellow fellow Yan Niaonan.
Jessica Andrade (Strawweight):
Jessica Andrade has now signed a contract with UFC, she is playing in two weights Strawweight and Flyweight. Jessica is a former Strawweight champion after losing to Chinese opponent Zhang Weili. She will compete with Marina Rodriguez in UFC 300.
Justin Gaethje (Lightweight):
Justin Gaethje is a former Lightweight champion and UFC BMF champion. He was the second boxer to be awarded the BMF belt after winning the title at UFC 291. As of August 2023. Gaethje ranked 2nd in the Hang Can's rankings. He will encounter Max Holloway in the BMF battle.
Max Holloway (Featherweight):
Max Holloway is a former Featherweight champion. Up to now, he ranked second in UFC's Featherweight rankings and ranked 14th in the Pound-For-Pound Nam rankings.
Charles Oliveira (Lightweight):
Charles Oliveira is a former Lightweight champion. He holds many impressive records in MMA career. The most remarkable thing is that he won many victories since he was 16 years old and received a lot of bonuses when he was 19 years old.
In October 2023, Oliveira expected to encounter the Makhachev Islam at UFC 294. However, he was forced to leave the event for injury, and the replacement was Alexander Volkanovski. In the upcoming match, Oliveira will face Arman Tsarukyan.
Aljamain Sterling (Featherweight):
After being lowered by Sean O'Malley at UFC 292, Aljamain Sterling had lost the Bantamweight championship. Sterling owns many impressive records in UFC including the largest number of victories, the most consecutive victory and successfully defending the championship belt. He has now switched to Featherweight. 'Funk Master' will face Calvin Kattar at UFC 300.
Bobby Green (Lightweight):
Bobby Green won against Tony Ferguson at UFC 291 in July 2023. This victory helped him win the title of 'Fight of the Night'. Green is currently playing in Lightweight, he is the former Lightweight champion and the Welterweight champion. In the upcoming match, Bobby Green will be with Jim Miller.
Holly Holm (Bantamweight):
In the first time protecting the Bantamweight championship belt, Holly Holm received a defeat against Miesha Tate in UFC 196 in 2016. After that, she continued to lose to Valentina Shevchenko.
In March 2019, Holm signed a new contract with UFC and she encountered Amanda Nunes to compete for Bantamweight's belt, she received a defeat against Nunes when she was lowered by opponent TKO at UFC 239.
Holly Holm is a former bantamweight champion and a former professional MMA boxer. She also repeatedly won the boxing prize. American boxers have 18 times to successfully defend the title in three weight classes.