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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Matt Erickson

UFC 301: How to watch Rio de Janeiro fight card, lineup, odds, preview videos, more

UFC ESPN UFC 301 Alexandre Pantoja Dione Barbosa Ernesta Kareckaite Jonathan Martinez Jose Aldo Rio Brandon Royval

The UFC is set for its return to Brazil’s most iconic city.

Here’s how to watch UFC 301 with the flyweight title on the line at the top of the lineup.

Broadcast and streaming info

UFC 301 has a main card that starts at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view via ESPN+. A four-fight preliminary card airs on ESPN at 8 p.m. following five early prelims on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET.

Jon Anik will host the official UFC 301 weigh-in show on Friday at 8 a.m. ET. He’ll be joined by UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, retried lightweight Paul Felder and former fighter/coach Din Thomas.

Chael Sonnen will serve as a desk analyst on the UFC 301 post-fight show and throughout the card, when necessary. Phil Murphy will host the desk.

Longtime UFC correspondent Karyn Bryant will conduct pre- and post-fight interviews backstage with some of the athletes on the UFC 301 card, as well as report additional real-time updates for the event.

Anik will serve as the leading man on the mic from cageside. He will command play-by-play alongside color commentators, former two-division champion Cormier, as well as Felder. Thomas also will occasionally join the booth throughout the broadcast as the coach-analyst for the event.

– Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie

Main event: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg

Dec 16, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alexandre Pantoja (red gloves) reacts after defeating Brandon Royval (not pictured) to win the UFC Flyweight title during UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC), a native of Rio, will put his belt on the line for the second time when he takes on Australia’s Steve Erceg (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who raised more than a few eyebrows when he was given a title shot just three fights into his UFC run, and less than a year after he debuted in the promotion.

Pantoja had back-to-back bonus-winning submissions of Brandon Royval and Alex Perez to get a shot at the belt. He took it from Brandon Moreno with a split decision at UFC 290. In December, he outworked Royval in a rematch for his first defense and fifth straight win.

Erceg came on the scene in mid-2023 when a bonus-winning decision over David Dvorak. After a win over Alessandro Costa, he picked up his first UFC stoppage – a bonus-winning knockout of Matt Schnell in early March that got him the title shot.

Co-main event: Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Martinez

Jose Aldo (31-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) retired after a loss to Merab Dvalishvili in 2022, but it didn’t last long. He had three boxing matches, and now will fight out his UFC contract against Jonathan Martinez (19-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in one of the most non-retirement retirements in recent memory. The former featherweight champion has been at bantamweight for several years.

Martinez has won six straight fights, including bonus-winning knockouts in two of his past three against Cub Swanson and Adrian Yanez.

UFC debut: Mauricio Ruffy

Mauricio Ruffy def. Raimond Magomedaliev DWCS 65

Record: 9-1
Opponent: Jamie Mullarkey (17-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Misc.: 30-year-old Brazilian got shot through third-round knockout win over Raimond Magomedaliev on Dana White’s Contender Series with just 15 seconds left. All nine of his wins are by knockout.

UFC debut: Dione Barbosa

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 05: Dione Barbosa of Brazil reacts after her submission victory over Rainn Guerrero in a flyweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season seven, week five at UFC APEX on September 05, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Record: 6-2
Opponent: Ernesta Kareckaite (5-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Division: Women’s flyweight
Misc.: 31-year-old Brazilian makes her UFC debut on the heels of two LFA wins and a DWCS first-round submission of Rainn Guerrero this past September to earn her shot against a fellow debutante.

UFC debut: Ernesta Kareckaite

Record: 5-0-1
Opponent: Dione Barbosa (6-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Division: Women’s flyweight
Misc.: 25-year-old from Lithuania took a split decision from Carli Judice on DWCS this past September.