Getty Israel Adesanya
The UFC has four options for its big, pay-per-view UFC 300 event planned for April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
According to veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, on his The MMA Hour show on YouTube, these options include:
- Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev
- Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad
- Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya
- Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus du Plessis
Helwani was swift to say that the situation remains “fluid,” meaning that it can change at a moment’s notice.
“The event is two months away,” he said.
“It’s getting pretty darn tight, and for any regular pay-per-view they usually don’t wait this long to announce a main event.
“This obviously wasn’t the plan and maybe they’re shooting for the moon. They’ve done a good job populating the card … but there’s a big, glaring hole” where the main event should be, said Helwani.
The MMA Fighting reporter then said “there are four options” to his understanding.
“We know that Leon and Belal was something that was discussed,” he said. “It seems they really don’t want that fight at 300 for whatever reason. I think that’s their last resort. I think Belal would do it. But for Leon, a title defense after seven weeks is not ideal. They’re not pulling the trigger on it.
“Izzy vs. DDP has been discussed and hinted at by both” fighters, Helwani added. “I think it is the one that makes the most season but the clock is ticking. DDP is a bit banged up after the Strickland fight. It’s definitely an option.
“Then we get to the left-field, rabbit-in-the-hat, if you will — if they can snap their fingers … I think they make Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev.”
What may prevent a fight between Edwards and Chimaev, Helwani noted, was an alleged issue with Sweden-Russia fighter Chimaev getting into the United States to compete — something he’s not done since 2022.
“I believe that’s been the hold up,” said Helwani. “If they can’t secure that, Khamzat vs. DDP.
“But I think their top choice is Leon vs. Khamzat. I think we’ll find out in the next few days.”
Ariel Helwani: I think that the top choice is Leon vs. Khamzat. This could all fizzle out and I think we’ll find out in the next few days. But I believe that is the top choice at the moment.
I also believe those other 3 fights are at play as well. Leon/Belal, Izzy/DDP and…
Time to Move on From Conor McGregor Involvement
One athlete who will not appear at the landmark event is Conor McGregor, Helwani said.
“A lot of people are holding out hope for Conor McGregor … as of right this second he’s not a part of those plans.”
Instead, McGregor could compete in the summer. “I still believe he’ll be a part of June 29 [for UFC’s International Fight Week],” said Helwani.
I think it’s crazy they didn’t put him on this card [for UFC 300], it’s time to move on.
How The Rest of UFC 300 Looks
The UFC 300 card currently looks like this:
- Deiveson Figuiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt — bantamweight
- Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller — lightweight
- Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez — women’s strawweight
- Sodiq Yusuff vs. Diego Lopes — featherweight
- Holly Holm vs. Kayla Harrison — women’s bantamweight
- Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage — middleweight
- Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling — featherweight
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic — light heavyweight
- Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan — lightweight
- Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway — lightweight
- Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan — women’s strawweight
“If you look at the card where it sits today,” White told Heavy and other reporters on February 9, “every single fight could be a main event on a UFC Fight Night, or a pay-per-view.
“We’ve got two more fights [left] that we’ve got to put together — we’re working on it.”