LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 22: Cody Garbrandt poses before his weight match during the … [+]
Cody Garbrandt gets his wish.
Following Garbrandt’s explosive KO victory over Brian Kelleher at UFC 296 in December 2023, No Love invited former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, who recently moved up to bantamweight.
UFC CEO Dana White made a post on social media to announce Garbrandt-Figueiredo for UFC 300 and three other exciting fights scheduled for March.
This match has the potential to be explosive.
Figueiredo is coming off a unanimous decision win over Rob Font in December 2023 in his 135-pound debut. The 36-year-old Brazilian with all his activities is looking to conquer another division.
Garbrandt, 32, is hoping to climb back up the division ladder to reclaim the title he held from December 2016 to November 2017.
With the addition of Garbrandt-Figueiredo, the UFC 300 card is starting to look like the exciting and potentially thrilling event many fans have been waiting for.
Here’s a look at the confirmed bouts on the card so far.
- (c) Weili Zhang vs. Yan Xiaonan – UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
- Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukian – No. 1 Lightweight Contender’s Fight
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandr Rakic - Light Heavyweight
- Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling – Featherweight
- Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage – Middleweight
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt – Bantamweight
It’s six really solid fights with six current or former UFC champions. Nevertheless, White and Co. maybe they want to add at least one more title fight – and possibly two.
Strong rumors suggest that welterweight champion Leon Edwards will defend his 170-pound title against Bilal Muhammad. This would undoubtedly add to the lineup of matches, but a third world title match could also be added.
Alex Pereira, Tom Aspinall, Alexa Grasso and Alexandre Pantoja would seemingly be the only champions with a chance to fill the spot. Pereira is the one most capable of moving the needle.
A fight between Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev could make sense if the latter defeats Johnny Walker on Saturday at UFC Vegas 84. Former champion Jamahal Hill would be the next logical opponent for Pereira. However, he is still recovering from a torn Achilles, so No. 3-ranked Ankalaev would be a logical opponent for Pereira.
If UFC 300 goes down with Pereira-Ankalaev, Edwards-Muhammad and Weili-Xiaonan, it won’t be as star-studded as many hoped, but it will still be one of the top shows of the year.
