UFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

Nothing weird about it imo, it's a good stylistic matchup for Max. Gaethje doesn't really grapple and he does his best work in the pocket. Max is very good in these type of standup fights where he can use movement and volume and (often) superior cardio. It's a 5-rounder which is huge for Max. The one big concern for him is Gaethje's lowkick but we've already seen in Max v Volk 2 how he adjusted to getting his lead leg chewed up by adopting a more square close-footed muay thai stance with less weight on the lead leg and obviously easier to check kicks as well from that stance.

Perreira has the same stance advantage vs Hill, the downside of that stance is always that you're more vulnerable to a double leg with the feet so close together but neither Max nor Alex are likely to be tested in that way.

The other knock on Max is of course moving up in weight but he's 30 years old now, you start to put on weight easier at that age and he prepared longer this time than when he went against Dustin. I think Dustin is a more technical striker than Justin and even so it wasn't like he outstruck Max, it was just that Dustin landed with more power and took rounds that way, they were closely matched in number of landed strikes.
Speaking of age, Max was 27 to Dustin's 30 for that fight, Gathej is 35 in this one. Not saying father time caught up to him because we've seen no indication of that. If anything Gaethje fights better than ever, but it's still a fact that he's now closer to 40 years of age than 30.

* Edited at 04.12.2024, 11:05 AM ET *

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Pereira vs. Hill
Alex Pereira, TKO, R3
Hill definitely has a chance here but I just think the leg kicks are gonna be too much for him to take especially coming off of a leg injury

Zhang vs. Yan
Weili Zhang, DEC
Weili by probably boring yet dominant performance

Gaethje vs. Holloway
Max Holloway, DEC
Regardless of how this goes this is going to be a war, but I'll favor Max against just about anyone when it's a five round fight

Oliveira vs. Tsarukyan
Charles Oliveira, TKO, R2
CHAMP HAS A NAME CHAMP HAS A NAME CHAMP HAS A NAME

Nickal vs. Brundage
Cody Brundage, TKO, R1
I by no means expect this to actually happen. But you gotta understand that it would be so ******* funny

Procházka vs. Rakić
Jiří Procházka, TKO, R2
Jiri, take this man out

Kattar vs. Sterling
Calvin Kattar, DEC
Calvin's the biggest dude that Aljo's probably ever fought, he's got great striking and he's a decently underrated wrestler. If Calvin can come back and be the guy I know he can be then Aljo's gonna have a tough Featherweight debut.

Holm vs. Harrison
Kayla Harrison, DEC
Holm just needs to retire

Yusuff vs. Lopes
Diego Lopes, SUB, R2
Diego's a tough bastard, I think Sodiq gets taken out

Turner vs. Moicano
Jalin Turner, TKO, R2
Jalin is a nightmare matchup for just about everyone in the Lightweight division

Andrade vs. Rodriguez
Jéssica Andrade, TKO, R3
Andrade prolly just beats her up a bit

Green vs. Miller
Jim Miller, SUB, R2
Jim ****** Miller les go

Figueiredo vs. Garbrandt
Deiveson Figueiredo, TKO, R2
Heart says Cody but mind says Figgy

the youtube chat waiting for the weigh in show actually makes half of yall seems completely normal.

even after a good amount of film watching i still can’t believe this card is real. blessed to be in this timeline 

@osusnp 

DID YOU JUST CALL US NORMAL?! WHO IN THE **** IN WHO EXACTLY IS YOU BRO?! you bastard. 

Kayla made weight some how 

Kayla made the weight, it's on

* Edited at 04.12.2024, 12:15 PM ET *

Kayla is 33 and she looks about the same age as Holly, lay the juice down

Zhang vs. Yan
Weili Zhang, DEC
Weili--Is the Bomb !!

300 💪🔥🔥🔥

phenomenal shape on hill

PED vibes on arman..

Does anyone know when was the last event that zero fights cancelled, and zero fighters missed weight? seems pretty rare

@Calfoth 

come on now

@donmfchod 

because he takes his diet and training seriously. Try it sometime, you’ll be amazed of the results.

The dude looked like a 30 year old that's done some serious body building for 10-12 years when he joined the UFC at age 22. There's a good chance any fighter is on PEDs but this guy has some freakish genetics as well.

@flying_frontkick 

this is why I said half

Pretty much everyone looked ripped. Rodriguez is of course still a beanpole and Jamahal Hill has probably never had visible abs. Figgy looked in great shape but a bit tired.

Pereira vs. Hill
Alex Pereira, TKO, R2
Interesting match for the UFC 300 Main Event because Pereira has the power advantage, but it seems to me that Hill managed the best defensive fundamentals by a clear margin between the two fighters. Hill says that the way of boxing is his key to winning and honestly it doesn't seem crazy to me, in training you can see how Poatan's guard is very open in order to throw a powerful hand and in the 2 fights against Adesanya it was evident that Pereira is not even remotely aware of whether a punch such as a hook or overhand enters through the side of the temple or behind the ears. But personally I think Hill is coming back very soon from his Achilles tendon injury and one of Pereira's strengths is calf kicks. Poatan will be a double threat for Hill due to the Left Hook that is almost infallible on drop opponents and the recently operated tendon will be an obvious target for calf kicks, so Pereira will bet on dropping him either with kicks to the leg or by a head strike. The straight punches arrive faster than the curved punches so Hill also has a chance, but I consider that Pereira will win by KO / TKO in the second round.

Zhang vs. Yan
Weili Zhang, TKO, R3
Esparza made a blueprint to beat Yan and from my point of view since that fight Yan had not faced someone with that level of wrestling until now that she will face Weili who has evolved a lot in that department since she started training with Cejudo. Weili is powerful in her striking and personally it could be an interesting fight if both decide to exchange standing, opening some possibility for Yan. But I personally believe that Weili will take the fight to the ground and with perhaps two rounds or just one of control in top position and ground and pound, Weili should achieve a new defense of the title. Weili Zhang by KO/TKO in Round 2 or Round 3.

Nickal vs. Brundage
Bo Nickal, SUB, R1
Brundage was State Runner-up in High School Wrestling, but Bo in terms of Folkstyle wrestling is far superior (in addition to Brundage was outwrestled by Maximov in his UFC debut). I think Nickal will take the fight to the ground early, work with ground and pound and put Brundage face down on the ground to finish it with a rear-naked choke in the first round.

Yusuff vs. Lopes
Diego Lopes, SUB, R2
It is amazing how a fighter can stand out for a performance where he loses after having a very good fight against a Top 5 level rival. Maybe it is because seeing what you are capable of doing with minimal preparation against an elite fighter allows you have greater motivation to trust your abilities and try to capitalize on everything that your inner skills can lead you to achieve. Lopes is well rounded especially in the sense that he has good hands and a dangerous BJJ. Sodiq has KO power, but when I see him fight I imagine that he wants to destroy his opponents with aggressive combos like Topuria, but he has the durability of Michael Chandler (Allen almost drop him with all the clear power blows he landed when they faced each other). ). I consider that there will be an even study round in the first, but in the second round Lopes will land some good hands that will hurt Yussuf on his feet, making him panic shoot and allowing Lopes to get a Guillotine or Anaconda Choke. In my opinion Double P (Mexicans will understand the reference) by Round 2 Submission.

Andrade vs. Rodriguez
Jéssica Andrade, TKO, R3
Marina will have an advantage in height and reach but the power is on the side of Jessica Andrade, who, whether being the hammer or the nail, is without a doubt the most entertaining WMMA fighter of all time (at least in my opinion). I can see a scenario where after an even fight at the end of the second round. During the last round Andrade managed to hurt Rodriguez to finish by swarm her with flurry punches against the cage (something similar to what happened to Marina against Lemos).