The UFC returns to Las Vegas for a landmark card filled with 11 former world champions and headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill.
In arguably the most stacked card of all-time, two-weight world champion "Poatan" will take on former 205-pound champion Hill in a five-round bout where he looks to win back the title he was forced to relinquish after injury.
The co-main event will see Weili Zhang defender he strawweight belt against Yan Xiaonan while Justin Gaethje will defend his BMF title against Max Holloway also in a star-studded card.
We'll take a look at the main event of this stacked fight card and provide you with our best free UFC picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while watching an incredible fight card.
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UFC 300 information
- Saturday, April 13th 2024
- T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
- Light Heavyweight Championship (205lbs limit)
- 5 x 5 minute rounds
- 22:00 ET main card start time
Alex Pereira vs Jamahal Hill
Two world-class fighters with a bit of history between them will go head-to-head in this bout, with neither fighter used to tasting defeat too regularly throughout their career.
Reigning champion Pereira currently holds a professional record of 9-2 including seven wins by knockout. He made his name in the UFC with a knockout win over Sean Strickland before a highly-anticipated rematch from his kickboxing days against long-time champion Israel Adesanya ended with him landing a lethal left hook in the final round to claim the championship at 185-pounds.
His next bout was another rematch with Adesanya in which he was knocked unconscious in the second round and lost for the first time in the organisation, which accelerated a move up a division to light heavyweight.
There he has fought twice so far, both times against former champions in Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka where he earned a decision win over the Polish legend before knocking out the Czech samurai in the second round to claim a second world title.
Hill on the other hand currently holds a professional record of 12-1 with one no contest, and comes into this fight on a four-fight win streak.
"Sweet Dreams" suffered the first defeat of his UFC career against Paul Craig when he had his elbow dislocated mid-fight and was TKO'd as a result, but has since fought back to put together a fantastic run.
Hill earned first-round knockout wins over Jimmy Crute and then Johnny Walker in his next two outings before stopping former title challenger Thiago Santos in the fourth-round of their main event.
As Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fought to a draw for the vacant 205lbs title at UFC 282, Dana White put together a bout for the vacant title between Hill and Glover Teixeira, who is now Pereira's coach. Hill dominated the outing and claimed a unanimous decision win in Brazil, sending the legendary fighter into retirement in the process.
Hill was however forced to relinquish the title after suffering torn Achilles injury while playing basketball at a UFC event, and returns for the first time since that injury.
Route to victory
When it comes to the striking world in the UFC, there is arguably nobody better than Alex Pereira and everyone knows it at this point.
Pereira will use his leg kicks to maintain distance and his fantastic counter-striking to land powerful punches whenever Hill looks to close the distance. However, Hill has got some underrated power of his own in his hands and he showed against Glover Teixeira that he is an excellent boxer and kicker too.
The biggest route to victory for the challenger is the fact that he is an accomplished grappler too, somewhere we have seen already that Pereira does struggle when he's forced to his back.
But during the build up to this fight Hill has made it clear that he has no intention of grappling and will instead be looking to go blow-for-blow with the Brazilian. However, he should really consider using his Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt to limit the striking of his opponent and take this fight into the latter rounds.
Check out our review for MyBookie sports betting here.
UFC Picks: Alex Pereira to retain
If Hill is adamant that he is not going to grapple, then this fight is only going to go one way.
"Poatan" is one of the most powerful and skillful strikers in the organization's history and if he could stand toe-to-toe with Adesanya and come out on top then he will be able to dominate against Hill too.
Expect low kicks, patience and some solid takedown defense throughout the opening rounds before pressuring Hill back towards the fence where he'll unload vicious combinations and claim the victory to retain his 205lbs title in a stellar performance on a historic card.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
