The official fight order for UFC 300 has finally been confirmed, but some fans aren’t happy about Charles Oliveira vs Arman Tsarukyan opening the PPV.
During the UFC 299 broadcast, the official bout order for UFC 300 in April was confirmed with Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan set to open the PPV, one place below Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage.
There has been some surprise pushback from MMA fans in response to the placement of ‘do Bronx’, many complaining that the former lightweight king shouldn’t be under rising prospect Bo Nickal for such an anniversary event.
However, many of these complaints aren’t taking into consideration that the PPV opener is often a bigger, and more sought-after spot than the second scheduled bout – and this isn’t something ‘new’ for the UFC.
Misplaced complaints surrounding UFC 300 full-card fight order
With the addition of Renato Moicano vs Jalin Turner, the full fight card for UFC 300 is complete; scheduled to go down on April 13 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Three title fights top the bill with Alex Pereira defending his light heavyweight strap against Jamahal Hill in the main event, after Zhang Weili takes on Yan Xiaonan for strawweight gold in the co-main and Justin Gaethje faces Max Holloway for the BMF belt in the featured bout.
Yet there has been some minor, if not misplaced, controversy surrounding Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage being the second fight of the main card; with former lightweight champion Oliveira ‘demoted’ to main card opener.
One fan wrote: “Dude, Bo Nickal should NOT be on the main card of 300…he doesn’t deserve to come after Oliveira.”
“Charles Oliveira, one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, most finishes and submissions in UFC history, UFC veteran, one of the goats of LW… And Bo f******g Nickal is over him on the main card.”
“Bo Nickal above Charles Oliveira on the main card for UFC 300 is pathetic,” shared one fan with another posting, “Over Oliveira and Aljo’s FW debut? They can’t be real. 300 is a**.”
“I still don’t understand the thought process behind putting Bo Nickal on the main card of UFC 300…It’s comical. Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage is above Charles Oliveira vs Arman Tsarukyan.”
“Who tf told Dana to put Bo Nickal on the 300 card? And over Oliveira too?”
Whilst all MMA fans are entitled to their own opinions, many of those sharing criticisms of the bout order, specifically surrounding Oliveira, aren’t taking into account that being the first fight of a PPV is often considered a more beneficial spot than being second.
This is because the UFC wants to not only maintain continuous fan engagement from the prelims through to the main card but that having such a household name as Oliveira up first means that fans will want to be sat down with the PPV purchased by the time the broadcast starts.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to generating as much money as the UFC can from PPV sales, and having Oliveira open the card will encourage more fans to invest from the get-go.
Take UFC 268 for example, where Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler opened the PPV broadcast only to be followed by Shane Burgos vs Billy Quarantillo – if you can’t be involved in the final three fights of a PPV card, it’s arguably better to be first.
The only real merit to any part of this pushback regarding the UFC 300 bout order is that Nickal has retained his main card place over the likes of Jiri Prochazka or Aljamain Sterling; both of whom are former champions and undoubtedly bigger names.
Whilst Nickal is certainly a star in the making in his own right, following Oliveira vs Tsarukyan will also lead to more eyes on the surging prospect as the UFC continues to push his promotion.
But if you are complaining about Oliveira and Tsarukyan being the opening fight of UFC 300, you’re missing the ‘PPV point’ as the placement makes perfect sense from both a business and broadcast perspective.
The full fight card for UFC 300, in its confirmed order, includes:
- Alex Pereira vs Jamahal Hill – Main event
- Zhang Weili vs Yan Xiaonan – Co-main event
- Justin Gaethje vs Max Holloway – Main card
- Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage – Main card
- Charles Oliveira vs Arman Tsarukyan – Main card opener
- Jiri Prochazka vs Aleksandar Rakic – Prelims
- Calvin Kattar vs Aljamain Sterling – Prelims
- Holly Holm vs Kayla Harrison – Prelims
- Sodiq Yusuff vs Diego Lopes – Prelims
- Jalin Turner vs Renato Moicano – Prelims
- Jessica Andrade vs Marina Rodriguez – Prelims
- Bobby Green vs Jim Miller – Prelims
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs Cody Garbrandt – Prelims
UFC 300 goes down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 13, 2024.