Preview: UFC 301 ‘Pantoja vs. Erceg’

Middleweights

Michel Pereira (30-11, 8-2 UFC) vs. Ihor Potieria (20-5, 2-3 UFC)

ODDS: Pereira (-535), Potieria (+400)

Pereira seems to be figuring things out. Brazil’s “Demolidor” was a highly anticipated signing ahead of his 2019 UFC debut but more for entertainment purposes than any sort of expectation that he would become a contender. A top-tier athlete, Pereira mostly used his gifts to perform flashy and acrobatic techniques that were just as likely to lead to disaster as they were to actually end the fight. Indeed, Pereira’s first three fights ran the gamut of possibilities. He kicked off his UFC career with a brutal knockout of Danny Roberts and a decision loss to natural featherweight Tristan Connelly before getting himself disqualified against Diego Sanchez. Pereira seemed to learn from those performances and has gotten things in line since, even if some of the results were disappointing from an excitement standpoint. Pereira would go on to win five straight fights at welterweight but mostly on the back of a range striking style that leveraged his size and speed while providing little in the way of activity. Some weight cutting issues forced Pereira to move up to middleweight late last year, and that seems to have renewed the spark of Pereira’s performances. Faced with two tough outs in Andre Petroski and Michal Oleksiejczuk, Pereira finished both within 70 seconds while adding to his highlight reel. Pereira steps in less than two months after the Oleksiejczuk win to take on a fellow newly crowned middleweight in Potieria, who cut down from 205 pounds earlier this year.

Ukraine’s Potieria looked like he might be little more than a footnote after his first few UFC fights—he was the man to retire Mauricio Rua early in 2023—but seemed to finally channel his brawling style into something more productive in his last fight at 205 pounds, a back-and-forth war with Rodolfo Bellato where he looked good before getting knocked out. Potieria carried those improvements into his middleweight debut, a win over Robert Bryczek in March. Between his physical gifts and rapidly improving approach, he could turn out to be a problem at 185 pounds with a few more fights. For now, he’ll probably get hit hard in short order. The pick is Pereira via first-round knockout.

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Pantoja vs. Erceg
Martinez vs. Aldo
Petrino vs. Smith
Pereira vs. Potieria
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The Prelims