UFC has finally confirmed that the UFC 301 event will be held at Rio Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Alô, Brasil! Estamos de volta! 🇧🇷
O UFC retorna ao Rio de Janeiro em maio para o #UFC301!
Cadastre-se para a pré-venda em: https://t.co/DMSL3ghOZ8 pic.twitter.com/smRAATqJHA
— UFC Brasil (@UFCBrasil) February 17, 2024
The promotion announced the news, noting the pay-per-view event will be on May 4. This follows the company’s event in Rio in January 2023.
Despite the news, however, there are still no bouts named entering the card. Yet, past reports and rumors claimed that some fights that might appear in the PPV event could include Caio Borralho vs. Paul Craig, Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore, Drakkar Klose vs. Joaquim Silva, Kevin Borjas vs. Alessandro Costa, and Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite.
As for the main event and co-main event of the card, pairing remains murky, but it is important to note that different champions in the UFC roster are expressing interest in joining the event. Two of them include light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira and flyweight Champ Alexandre Pantoja. In January, the latter shared in confidence in entering the card, promising that he would defend his belt again on his home soil and asking CEO Dana White to grant him his “wish.”
“I’ve fought all over the world, you know,” Pantoja said during the UFC 296 post-fight interview last December. “I’ve fought in South Korea. I fought in Abu Dhabi. I’ve fought in Chile and Argentina and Glasgow. I’ve never fought for the UFC in Brazi. That’s my wish for Papa Dana for Christmas. I want to defend my belt in Rio de Janeiro. That’s my town.”
