Main Card Results | UFC 300: Pereira vs Hill

The former Hodge Award winner leaned on his grappling, working to dominant positions and controlling Brundage on the canvas throughout. While he couldn’t find a submission set up that got close in the first, he worked to secure one in the second, getting around to Brundage’s back and attacking the neck; the tap came right away.

Now 6-0 as a professional with finishes each time out, Nickal remains an impressive emerging talent in the 185-pound weight class and someone that continues to show improvements each time out. He’s still getting comfortable in the Octagon and the future remains bright for the former Penn State standout.

Oliveira latched onto a guillotine choke early in the contest, looking to put Tsarukyan away early, but the surging hopeful defended well and escaped. Tsarukyam spent the back half of the round and much of the second in top position, opening up the former champion with elbows, sending the duo into the final round all level. After spending the first half of the final round trading in space, the fight shifted to the canvas, with Tsarukyan initially controlling things before Oliveira attacked a D’arce choke, squeezing through to the final horn.

Everything came down to how the judges scored things, and in particular, the value they put on the submission attempts of Oliveira in the first and third. When the scorecards came back, it was Tsarukyan that emerged on the happy side of the split decision verdict, advancing his winning streak to four and potentially putting him in a position to challenge for the title later this year.

Gaethje found more success in the fourth, dropping Holloway and continuing to crash home low kicks to the Hawaiian’s battered lead leg, but Holloway responded by taking the fight to him in the fifth… and then it happened.

When the final 10 second clacker sounded, Holloway invited Gaethje to stand in the center with him, much like he did Ricardo Lamas at UFC 199. Gaethje obliged and the two started slinging, with Holloway putting a right hand on Gaethje’s jaw, knocking him out cold.

This was every bit as captivating as expected, and an absolutely tremendous showing from the long-time ruler of the 145-pound weight class, with an insane finish that affirmed his standing as the baddest dude on the planet.

The challenger defended well and rallied in the third and early moments of the fourth, taking the fight to the tiring champion, knocking her down in each frame. But Zhang got the fight to the ground later in the round and controlled from there, landing shots the rest of the way home. In the final round, Zhang once again got the fight to the canvas and neutralized Yan, chipping away with short shots the rest of the way.

All three judges scored it in favor of Zhang, who secured her second successful title defense to begin her second reign atop the 115-pound weight class. It’ll be interesting to see what is next for the titleholder after a competitive, hard-fought battle here.

Alex Pereira successfully defended the light heavyweight title in spectacular fashion, flooring Jamahal Hill with a massive left hook midway through the opening round. The champion didn’t even land completely flush, and yet Hill fell backwards to the canvas. Pereira pounced, swarming and securing the finish, making it look easy.

“Poatan” is putting together one of the most remarkable resumes in UFC history, and he’s doing it against elite tier talent. That’s now three straight in the 205-pound weight class for Pereira, each coming against a former titleholder, and a 7-1 record inside the Octagon with three championship fights, all in less than three years.

What an incredible way to close out a phenomenal night in Las Vegas.