UFC 301 News: Brazil Event Loses Major Main Card Fight

UFC 301 has lost a huge main card matchup less than a month before the event is scheduled to take place in Brazil.

The UFC will return to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 4 for UFC 301, and fittingly the card has been loaded from top to bottom with some of the promotion’s top Brazilian talent.

The night’s PPV main card was supposed to feature a middleweight bout between Makhmud Muradov and Michel Pereira, but unfortunately Muradov announced on Instagram that an infection has forced him to withdraw from that matchup.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Makhmud Muradov (@makhmud_muradov)
The news is frustrating for Muradov after his last bout against Aliaskhab Khizriev ended in just 11 seconds due to an eye poke, and “Mach” would have had a huge opportunity to rebound from that result against a fan-favorite in Pereira.
“Demolidor” is now on a seven-fight win streak dating back to 2020, and the Brazilian most recently earned his second middleweight victory when he submitted Michał Oleksiejczuk in just over a minute at UFC 301.
The UFC recently released the official poster for UFC 301, which includes the return of UFC Hall of Famer José Aldo for a matchup with Jonathan Martinez as well as a headlining flyweight title bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg.
Only ONE month left until #UFC301!

Check out the official poster for Rio! 🇧🇷

Buy your tickets now: https://t.co/ORJ91Aulww pic.twitter.com/H5WYQW0uTU
April 4, 2024
There may be enough time for the UFC to find a replacement fighter to take on Pereira in Brazil following Muradov’s withdrawal, and for the moment the full card for UFC 301 looks like this:
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg - For the UFC Men’s Flyweight Championship
Jonathan Martinez vs. José Aldo
Anthony Smith vs. Vitor Petrino
Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho
Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo
Elves Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai
Jean Silva vs. William Gomis
Joaquim Silva vs. Drakkar Klose
Mauricio Ruffy vs. Jamie Mullarkey
Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite
Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel
Alessandro Cosa vs. Kevin Borjas
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Published Apr 8, 2024
MATHEW RIDDLE
Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist, graphic designer, and SEO expert with half a decade of digital marketing and a dedicated four-year track record in MMA journalism. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023. Mathew's insights have been featured on Bloody Elbow, The Fight Fanatic, and Heavy on UFC. He runs Warrior Tribune and can be contacted by his Muckrack profile.
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