With UFC 301 set to mark a return to Brazil for the MMA leader in just a day, the athletes competing have taken to the scales ahead of their bouts.

Let’s see who weighed in!

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Main card (3am GMT+1 – TNT Sports)

(c) Alexandre Pantoja (125lbs) vs (#10) Steve Erceg (125lbs) – UFC flyweight championship bout

(#12) Jonathan Martinez (136lbs) vs Jose Aldo (136lbs) – bantamweight bout

(#10) Anthony Smith (205.5lbs) vs (#15) Vitor Petrino (206lbs) – light heavyweight bout

Michel Pereira (186lbs) vs Ihor Potieria (185lbs) – middleweight bout

(#14) Paul Craig (185lbs) vs (#15) Caio Borralho (186lbs) – middleweight bout

Prelims (1am GMT+1 – TNT Sports/UFC Fight Pass)

Jack Shore (145.5lbs) vs Joanderson Brito (146lbs) – featherweight bout

(#13) Karolina Kowalkiewicz (116lbs) vs Iasmin Lucindo (116lbs) – strawweight bout

Elves Brener (156lbs) vs Myktbek Orolbai (155.5lbs) – lightweight bout

Jean Silva (146lbs) vs William Gomis (143lbs) – featherweight bout*

Early prelims (11pm GMT+1 – UFC Fight Pass)

Joaquim Silva (155.5lbs) vs Drakkar Klose (156lbs) – lightweight bout

Mauricio Ruffy (156lbs) vs Jamie Mullarkey (156lbs) – lightweight bout

Dione Barbosa (126lbs) vs Ernesta Kareckaite (125.5lbs) – flyweight bout

Ismael Bonfim (156lbs) vs Vinc Pichel (156lbs) – lightweight bout

Alessandro Costa (126lbs) vs Kevin Borjas (125.5lbs) – flyweight bout

*This bout has been cancelled due to Gomis falling ill

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For more UFC 301 content, stay tuned to Violent Money TV.

Max Holloway’s sensational knockout victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 has seen his stock rise almost immeasurably. The former UFC featherweight champion finished Gaethje in the final second of the BMF title fight in what has been proclaimed one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history. 

This was Holloway’s second time testing the waters in the lightweight division, and it’s  safe to say he fared better than in his interim title fight defeat to Dustin Poirier back in 2019. 

His performance at UFC 300 has opened a lot of potential doors for him going forward. Holloway was the champion at 145lbs for two-and-a-half-years before losing his belt to Alexander Volkanovski back in December of 2019. He went on to lose twice more to the Australian, but in the time since Volkanovski has lost the belt to Ilia Topuria and Holloway has taken out a number of surging contenders in the division, such as Calvin Kattar, Arnold Allen and Yair Rodriguez. 

All of this leaves ‘Blessed’ in pole position as the consensus #1 contender at featherweight. ‘El Matador’ was quick to call out Holloway on social media after UFC 300 and it seems the UFC may have a genuine superfight on their hands. 

The fact that the win over Gaethje took place at lightweight, however, has also launched Holloway into the title conversation at 155lbs, and last week during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience Holloway outlined his preferred scenario going forward: 

“In a perfect world, if I could have it my way, I would be stupid to not say…to fight Conor” said Holloway. “I think that Conor fight would be huge, whatever, but we don’t know  what he’s gonna do. In a perfect world (to me) would be – fight Ilia (45 title), get my hand raised, and whoever’s the next guy up at 55, fight them…try and go for double champ  status, whatever it is…or even three belts! You know like, 45, the BMF and put the BMF  and the 55 against whoever at 55 and that’d be surreal, you know? I think that’d be crazy!” 

The lightweight title picture will become clearer after champion Islam Makhachev faces  challenger Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey on June 1^st. At the end of  June, Conor McGregor squares off against Michael Chandler in a bout that has been  scheduled to take place at 170lbs, although many observers (including UFC colour  commentator Daniel Cormier) have been speculating whether that fight could be  contested for a new 165lb title. 

Regardless of the weight class, Holloway’s next fight is guaranteed to bring fireworks.

Veteran striker Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong has become a staple of ONE Championship’s lightweight Muay Thai division over the last year, but he’ll shift focus to a new sport this weekend.

At ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova this Saturday, 4th May, the Thai star will strap on the big gloves to compete in kickboxing for the first time in ONE against Bogdan Shumarov inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. 

Rungrawee has put together a 4-1 slate in the Muay Thai ranks, taking out names like Nauzet Trujillo, Vladimir Gabov, and Shakir Al-Tekreeti along the way. His next clash may be a step outside his comfort zone, but the Sitsongpeenong man believes he’s ready for anything. 

“I am a person who never underestimates my opponents. I will do my best on stage. I will fight according to the game plan. If he has a trump card to show, I’m ready to adapt,” Rungrawee said. 

“It’s definitely me who kicks better than him. We’ve practiced Muay Thai kicks since we were kids. The thing that gives him an advantage over me is his punches. I study him all the time. He’s only good at punching people.”

Shumarov has put a strong showing together thus far in ONE Championship. His two finishes from as many fights have announced the Bulgarian brawler as a contender to Alexis Nicolas’ newly acquired divisional gold, and he’ll be out to cement that on Saturday.

With that in mind, Rungrawee knows he’ll need to be at the top of his game to walk away with the win. But he intends to cause an upset and snatch a bit of extra cash while doing it. 

After that, the 28-year-old will set his eyes on the ultimate prize.

“The goal for this fight is to win by knockout. In my mind, I want to get another bonus,” Rungrawee stated.  

“If I can knock Bogdan out, I think I would like to fight for the ONE World Title.”