In a competition known for its big showcases and even bigger personalities, those two factors are set to combine like never before for UFC 300.
The promotion is closing in on its 300th pay-per-view event and the competition’s most recognisable figure, Conor McGregor, is set to be on the card.
Although the UFC will close out 2023 with UFC 296, attention has already begun moving beyond the upcoming title fight of Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington, after McGregor took to Twitter to outline his intentions of fighting at UFC 300.
In what could potentially be a dream fight card, plenty of other major names in the world of UFC have been brought up — including an undefeated phenom, a bantamweight champion and possibly another fighter’s long-awaited return to the octagon.
But there’s no denying, with the historic milestone fast approaching, and McGregor outwardly citing his plan going forward, anticipation is reaching an all-time high in the MMA community.
So before UFC 300 gets here, we’ve got everything you need to know about the organisation’s big milestone event.
When is UFC 300?
Most likely April, 2024
All indications point towards UFC 300 being held in the first half of 2024, considering the fighting organisation plans pay-per-view events monthly. So the big 300 is heading towards an April show.
To be clear, this remains just speculation for the time being. In March 2023, the UFC held both UFC 285 and 286 in the same month.
As of late-October, nothing official has been announced post-UFC 297, which will take place January 20 in Toronto, Canada.
Where will UFC 300 be held?
Most likely Las Vegas
The UFC’s previous milestone events, UFC 100 and 200, were both held in the ‘fighting capital of the world’ Las Vegas, so indicators would suggest that’s where the 300th pay-per-view will be.
To be more specific, the stadium that it would most likely be held in is the T-Mobile Arena, which hosted UFC 200 and most recently UFC 290 – headlined by Alex Volkanovski’s round three victory over Yair Rodriguez.
Is Conor McGregor going to fight at UFC 300?
After what would be almost three years out of the octagon, following a nasty broken left tibia and fibula sustained against Dustin Poirier; coming back for UFC 300 would be some kind of a return for McGregor.
But 300 seems to be the most realistic chance of seeing the former lightweight and featherweight champion since the incident in 2021, with McGregor taking to Twitter in classic ‘Conor’ fashion talking about UFC 300.
In a now-deleted post, McGregor said “Picture me running up this motherf@*ker with a chainsaw, UFC 300 is mine!!!”.
It didn’t stop there either, with the Irishman following up that tweet with, “This is Sparta baby, break the panties out”.
Up until this point we haven’t heard McGregor specifically mention an event or return date to the octagon, so these tweets have really gotten fans excited.
Who will Conor McGregor fight?
Michael Chandler
It’s been reported for months now that Conor McGregor would return to the octagon to face the opposing coach from The Ultimate Fighter, Michael Chandler.
It has been the norm for some time now that the two coaches face off at the end of The Ultimate Fighter season, and many hoped that it would be in 2023. But head of the UFC, Dana White, has officially announced the fight cards for the remainder of the year, with no McGregor, or Chandler, in sight.
However, that is because of the main hurdle for McGregor’s comeback, which has been returning to the UFC’s anti-doping testing pool, as it’s been speculated that the former two-weight division champion had been using banned-substances to overcome his leg injury.
In order for him to fight in UFC 300, McGregor has submitted his un-retiring papers and has to wait six months in the USADA ‘testing pool’ before entering the octagon. And step one is in motion, after Dana White confirmed that McGregor had filed his paperwork.
“He’s not officially in the USADA testing pool,” White said.
“He submitted the paperwork, probably by Monday (October 30) he’ll be submitted. Again, don’t hold me to that, but the paperwork is submitted, next week sometime.”
This shows Conor McGregor’s first serious move to re-enter the UFC and potentially be the headline fight for UFC 300.
Who else is fighting at UFC 300?
MMA fans will want to see plenty of big names in action on the UFC 300 card and already some of the best fighters in the world have been raised to potentially be there.
There’s no denying that UFC 300, if Conor McGregor fights, it will be his to headline. But we could see a title fight co-main the event.
Here’s a list of potential fights for UFC 300:
Khamzat Chimaev vs Sean Strickland?
Having an undefeated fighter of Khamzat Chimaev’s caliber would be incredible at UFC 300, as the 13-0 fighter has taken the competition by storm.
Defeating former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman by decision at UFC 294 means Chimaev is the next challenger in the middleweight division which Sean Strickland is the current champion of.
Sean Strickland caused an upset against Israel Adesanya back in September and would be primed to return to the octagon in April 2024.
Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera?
O’Malley’s profile is rising and what better place to showcase the next face of the UFC than at the milestone event.
The bantamweight champion continues dominating and could face Marlon Vera, who stopped O’Malley three years ago.
Robert Whittaker vs Kamaru Usman?
Usman made his middleweight debut at UFC 294, and now Robert Whittaker wants him to stay put in the weight division for a potential bout at the 300th pay-per-view.
Whittaker said recently that he hopes Usman sticks around to make things interesting, sending fans into a frenzy, begging Dana White to book it in for UFC 300.
The Australian hasn’t fought since mid-2023, losing to South African Dricus Du Plessis by KO in the second round.
