UFC 300 is currently missing that marquee fight that will live up to the historic nature of the card. Fortunately, UFC CEO Dana White reportedly still has some magic he’s trying to weave.
UFC 300 is coming up in April and fans are waiting with bated breath for more fights to be announced. But with Conor McGregor’s return booked for June, is there a big enough fight out there that’s 300-worthy?
According to multi-time MMA reporter of the year Ariel Helwani, many of the rumored bouts for the historic card are not happening and the promotion is running low on ‘wow’ options.
“I don’t see the big fight out there,” Helwani said on the first MMA Hour of the year. “I asked around about Izzy, I don’t think he’ll be on there. There’s some talk about Izzy vs. Pereira, I don’t think that’ll happen. Maybe that changes. There’s some talk about Masvidal, he came out and said ‘Unretired.’ Masvidal’s not on that card. He’s not referring to 300, in case you’re wondering.”
“There was talk about Nate Diaz. Diaz isn’t on that card. His future plans don’t include the UFC and in particular, UFC 300. So you look around, I don’t know if there’s something that’s 300-worthy.”
That’s not to say we should all despair at the very real possibility of a Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad main event for UFC 300.
“They have a rabbit in their hat that they’re working on,” Helwani revealed. “It’s not a main event. There is one, but it’s not a main event. Meaning: they’re trying to make this as special as can be, I know that. But to me there’s nothing more special than the return of Conor. It’ll be almost three years since his last fight. It was right there … it was ready, you had this build-up with Chandler. It’s right there.”
“There are some rabbits, I know there’s one in particular that they’re hoping — I don’t know if it’s going to come to fruition just yet. But I feel like … is there a crazy rabbit that is headline worthy? Fans ultimately are going to buy it. But there’s nothing that feels 300-worthy. We’ve been talking about 300 for so long. There’s nothing that feels 300-worthy. Am I missing something?”
With no Conor, no Izzy, no Masvidal, and no (Nate) Diaz, things are looking a little dire. What do you think, Maniacs? What match-up could Dana White pull out of a hat that would impress you for UFC 300?