The UFC is no stranger to meticulously crafting talent-filled fight cards every single weekend. As they continue to elevate the standard for PPV events, the expectations of MMA fans worldwide also grow, making it increasingly harder to please the community and meet their unrealistic demands. However, there is a much different feeling permeating from fight fans as we sit less than a week away from UFC 299. The sentiment from the community is one of pure excitement and unbridled anticipation as the days tick away until March 9th, and fans have every reason to feel this way. From the opening prelims to the main event, UFC 299 is stacked with crafty veterans, brand new contenders, and matchups you only dreamed were possible.
The early prelims for UFC 299 kick off at 5 pm CST with flyweight hopeful, Assu Almabayev, taking on the seasoned Contender Series alum, C.J. Vergara. Almabayev is coming off a submission win in his UFC debut and aims to continue his impressive 14-fight win streak with a victory against Vergara. The Kazakh native displayed strong wrestling prowess and dangerous submission skills which may be an issue for his next opponent. In the opposing corner, C.J. Vergara has found success throughout his UFC career, notching wins against the likes of Kleydson Rodriguez, Daniel da Silva, and Vinicius Salvador. However, Vergara has been known to struggle when matched up with grapplers such as Tatsuro Taira, who submitted Vergara fairly easily back in 2022, and will more than likely face a similar game plan from Almabayev come Saturday night.
Next up, we see a rematch between Women’s Flyweights Joanne Wood & Maryna Moroz. Wood originally was priced as the betting favorite in the first fight against Moroz but suffered a loss via Armbar in just the first round. Nearly a decade later, the two UFC Veterans face off and aim to find out once and for all who is the more skilled martial artist. Moving on, we see one of the most anticipated matchups on the prelims as Olympic Taekwondo Medalist, Robelis Despaigne, makes his UFC debut against fellow Heavyweight contender Josh Parisian. Despaigne officially transitioned to MMA in 2019 after ‘outside factors’ left him estranged from his sport of Kickboxing. After moving to Florida in 2022, Despaigne went on an absolute tear- going 4-0 on the regional MMA circuit, all by way of first-round knockout. With his inhuman wingspan and next-level technical skills for the Heavyweight division, Despaigne plans on making a big splash and continuing his finishing ways against the slower Parisian come Saturday night.
The next fight on the early prelims is a middle-weight bout between the electrifying striker, Michel Pereira, and Polish powerhouse, Michal Oleksiejczuk. Pereira certainly has momentum on his side, coming into this matchup on a six-fight win streak and has no plans of losing now. However, Oleksiejczuk is anything but an easy night at the office for anyone as he is extremely durable and can change the direction of the fight with one single punch. Pereira has shown issues with his cardio in the past which may loom large should this fight make it into the later rounds. Either way, the fans are in for a treat when these two strikers meet in the octagon. Rounding out the early prelims of UFC 299, we see Light-Heavyweight contender Ion Cutelaba take on Philipe Lins. Cutelaba is coming off an impressive first-round KO win against Tanner Boser but it should be noted that he had dropped his last three prior fights, all by way of finish. Cutelaba has long been a staple in the LHW division and certainly has the talent to remain there, however, his durability is starting to diminish as his UFC tenure stretches onward. His next opponent, Philipe Lins, is currently on a three-fight win streak and finally is gaining the much-needed traction he’s been searching for throughout his four-year UFC career. This fight is rather hard to predict with both men showing flashes of greatness however I lean toward Cutelaba to use his experience and find a finish or grind out a hard-fought decision win.
Yes, that was indeed only the early prelims for the absolutely stacked card that is UFC 299. The standard prelims begin at 7 pm CST with a Bantamweight matchup between veteran striker, Pedro Munhoz, and rising contender, Kyler Phillips. Munhoz is coming off a decision loss to Chito Vera in August of last year and wants to show the fans he still has what it takes to remain in the top 15. Meanwhile, Kyler Phillips is on a two-fight win streak, amassing wins against the likes of Raoni Barcelos and Marcelo Rojo and aims to break into the rankings with a win over Munhoz on Saturday. With explosive striking and dangerous jiu-jitsu attacks, Phillips has all the tools to win the fight however don’t count out the veteran, Pedro Munhoz, as he can always use his experience to outsmart the prospect over the course of 15 minutes.
Next, we have a high-level matchup in the Lightweight division between the talented grappler, Mateusz Gamrot, and former UFC Champion, Rafael Dos Anjos. Gamrot has shown he belongs atop the UFC 155-pound division, defeating the likes of Arman Tsarukyan, Jalin Turner & Rafael Fiziev- to name a few. Gamrot is relentless in implementing his grappling game and has fantastic cardio that allows him to continuously pressure his opponents until they eventually give up. While his opponent in Dos Anjos certainly has quite the name behind him, he is reaching the tail-end of his hall-of-fame career & may end up being a step behind the younger Gamrot on Saturday night.
The featured prelim of the night, which is truly a main-event caliber matchup, has the #5 ranked Heavyweight, Curtis Blaydes, taking on the grappling phenom & #7 ranked Heavyweight, Jailton Almeida. Blaydes has had quite the successful career thus far, with wins against top-caliber opponents like Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik & Junior dos Santos to name a few. However, the 33-year-old fighter is coming into this matchup after losing to Sergei Pavlovich via first-round KO in April of 2023. Meanwhile, Jailton Almeida is currently undefeated in the UFC and has put the rest of the division on notice with his high-level BJJ skills and athletic ability. This fight is pretty much a coin toss on who will emerge victorious however I do see both athletes using their wrestling and believe whoever is more effective will end up winning the fight.
The main card of UFC 299 begins at 9 pm CST and might just go down as one of the best cards in UFC history. The first fight on the PPV card is a Bantamweight showdown between former champion and Master of Sport in Boxing, Petr Yan facing off against rising contender and deadly striker, Yadong Song. While his record may not be an accurate depiction of the current skill level, Petr Yan is certainly still one of the best Bantamweights on planet earth. Even on a three-fight losing skid, the former champion is more motivated than ever to prove to his fans that he is still a championship-caliber fighter. His opponent, Yadong Song, while having been signed to the UFC since 2017, has continued to make a name for himself in the 135-pound division- winning fights against the likes of Marlon Moraes, Ricky Simon & Chris Gutierrez respectfully. Even with his already lengthy UFC career, Song is only 26 years old and is only improving as time goes on. With that being said, we should expect to see either a changing of the guard at Bantamweight, should Song win, or a resurgence of a former champion in Yan, should he emerge victorious.
Next, we see our first Welterweight bout of the night with accomplished UFC veteran, Gilbert Burns, taking on the talented prospect, Jack Della Maddalena. Burns is coming off a loss to Belal Muhammad, where he suffered a shoulder injury during the fight- sidelining him for the remainder of 2023. The dangerous BJJ specialist has always made it a point to fight the best competition possible and never strays away from difficult matchups. Jack Della Maddalena is one of those matchups as he is currently undefeated in the UFC, displaying a level of championship-caliber striker that warrants respect from any fighter on the roster.
While I personally am extremely high on the Australian prospect, Gilbert Burns can hang with anyone and has the ability to end a fight with one of his deadly submissions in the blink of an eye. Next, we have one of the most highly anticipated fights on the entire card as former Bellator superstar, Michael Venom Page, faces the fan favorite, Kevin Holland. This will be a high-level striking affair with exciting in-cage banter and memorable highlights that will keep fans on the edge of their seat. However, with both fighters having a more “Showman” approach to fighting, we may end up seeing more of a playful bout versus one of high-level MMA.
The Co-Main event of UFC 299 is one of those matchups fight fans could only dream of seeing yet it is in fact a reality as the French wrecking machine, Benoit St. Denis, takes on UFC legend, Dustin Poirier. Aside from his less-than-stellar UFC debut, BSD has been nothing short of unstoppable, defeating his next five opponents either by way of knockout or submission. The self-named “God of War” vows to bring UFC gold back to his home country of France however he will have to go through a diamond to do so. Dustin Poirier has had nothing short of a hall-of-fame career and is a legend within the company and among fans worldwide. Poirier aims to put a halt to the French prospect and show fans he still has what it takes to lay claim to the UFC Lightweight title. This fight has intrigued the community since it was announced and will be a true battle for as long as it lasts.
Lastly, the main event of UFC 299 is a rematch between the “undefeated” Bantamweight Champion, Sean O’Malley, and his rival, Marlon “Chito” Vera. Sean O’Malley has certainly proven he is as good as he claims- defeating Petr Yan in a title-eliminator bout then moving on to knockout the champion, Aljamain Sterling. However, the superstar in O’Malley has one blemish on his UFC record that came from his loss to Chito Vera back in 2020. Due to a low-kick to his perineal nerve, O’Malley was unable to move inside the cage, eventually falling to the canvas where Vera finished him with elbow strikes. While this could very well happen a second time on Saturday night, I highly doubt lightning will strike twice for Vera. Since their original fight, O’Malley has shown massive improvements in his overall game while Chito has pretty much remained the same caliber of fighter. I see O’Malley staying patient throughout all 25 minutes and putting on a striking showcase for the fans, proving to himself and the world that he is truly undefeated, kind of.
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