Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This time around we take a look at UFC 301 at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Pantoja successfully defends Featherweight title
UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja successfully defended his Featherweight title against Aussie Steve Erceg. While some skeptics believed that Erceg was pushed into the title shot, he proved his worth against Pantoja. It was just Erceg’s fourth fight in the UFC.
Aldo remains the King of Rio
Jose Aldo was a late add to UFC 301, but it was worth it. The UFC Hall of Famer returned to the Octagon and showed no Octagon rust. Aldo earned a unanimous decision victory over Johnathan Martinez in the co-main event of the evening. The Rio crowd was the loudest for this fight as they revered Aldo. In turn, he put on a performance fitting the crown he wore at the end of the fight.
The announced attendance was 14,451 at the Farmasi (Jeunesse) Arena in Rio.
The bonuses went to Caio Borralho, Mauricio Ruffy, Michel Pereira and Alessandro Costa. Each received $50,000 bonuses. Notably Pereira earned a $50K bonus for his frenetic finish in which he executed a backflip landing on his opponent and possibly delivering a knee to a grounded opponent.
Although no reported bonus, Anthony Smith scored an upset over previously undefeated Victor Petrino on the main card of the PPV.
Ratings
UFC 301 Prelims drew 796,000 viewers on ESPN.
Sponsorships
Sponsors included Furiosa, a new Mad Max movie, Hudson Shipping, Crypto.com, Stake.com, Prime, Blockasset, Budweiser, Sheath, VeChain, Hostage Tape, Dude Wipes, CPI Stem Cells, Monster Energy, VP Racing, Sheath, Kudo/GoPuff, Bud Light, Curve (the fragrance for fighters), Howler Head, Aviator and Manscaped.
Odds and ends
It was announced that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua would be a part of the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame class. Rua will be inducted this June during International Fight Week.
Conclusion
Coming off of UFC 300, it was clear that this PPV was going to sell less units. But, Brazil fans really made this event. 301 seemed like the event to skip if you are an MMA fan on a budget. But, the main card had some good fights and the addition of Aldo helped a card that did not have appeal even though there was a tittle fight at the top of it. Hopefully, Pantoja can be pushed more as the Flyweight champion in subsequent title defenses.
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