The UFC 301 lineup has been expanded to 14 bouts with the addition of lightweight contests between Vinc Pichel and Ismael Bonfim, and Jamie Mullarkey and octagon newcomer Mauricio Ruffy.
Alright, let’s dive in. UFC 301’s lineup just got a bit more exciting. We’re talking 14 bouts, thanks to a couple of lightweight showdowns.
Vinc Pichel and Ismael Bonfim are set to duke it out. Remember them? They were supposed to meet last November at UFC Sao Paulo. Now, they’re rescheduled for May 4 in Rio de Janeiro. And there’s more. Jamie Mullarkey is going toe-to-toe with Mauricio Ruffy, a newbie to the octagon.
Marcel Dorff and Laerte Vianna were the first to spill the beans about these match-ups. You can check their tweets for the deets.
Here’s some backstory. Pichel (14-3) was all set to face Bonfim in Brazil last November. But, “Marreta” missed weight, tipping the scales at 159.5 pounds. Pichel wasn’t having it. He took to social media to call out the Brazilian prospect.
He wrote, “My opponent didn’t even try to make weight. I decided to take away his ability to fight and make money for this unprofessionalism, which I’m sure he regrets.” Pichel’s big on self-responsibility, and he felt Bonfim showed none. So, he decided to teach him a lesson.
Before this, Pichel was on a roll with a three-fight winning streak. Then he lost to Mark Madsen in April 2022. Bonfim (19-4), on the other hand, knocked out Terrance McKinney in his debut. But, he tapped out to Benoit Saint Denis‘s rear-naked choke last July.
Meanwhile, Mullarkey (17-7) is looking to bounce back from a loss to Nasrat Haqparast. He’s up against Sao Paulo’s Ruffy (9-1) in May. Ruffy, who trains with Jean Silva and Caio Borralho at Fighting Nerds, is on a four-fight winning streak. He recently finished off Raimond Magomedaliev at Dana White’s Contender Series.
UFC 301’s main event? Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja versus Steve Erceg. And get this, UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo is coming out of retirement. He’s set to battle Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event.
Stay tuned for the updated lineup.