UFC 301: Live Results, Analysis and Scoring

It wasn't everyone's cup of pay-per-view tea.

Though the on-site crowd in Rio De Janeiro was thrilled by the presence of a Brazilian fighter in each of 13 bouts, it wasn't as easy to sell a $79.99 price tag for a five-bout headline portion topped by a title bout between a champ and a No. 10 contender.

But UFC 301 featured flyweight belt-holder Alexandre Pantoja making his second defense against once-beaten Steve Erceg, who'd risen from Australian prospect to championship challenger after exactly three octagonal bouts in the last 11 months.

Pantoja defeated Brandon Moreno to win the title at UFC 290 last July and retained it against Brandon Royval five months later at UFC 296. Erceg, meanwhile, went from early and mid-card bouts at UFC 285 and 289 to a Fight Night main card win over Matt Schnell on March 2.

Perhaps stealing the show in Saturday's co-main at Farmasi Arena, though, was former featherweight champ Jose Aldo, who returned for the first time in 21 months and may have closed out his contract with the promotion against streaking prospect Jonathan Martinez.

The B/R combat staff was in position to take a look at the show in real time and provide live results, analysis and scoring for each bout. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought or two of your own in the comments.

Alexandre Pantoja looked far worse for the wear.

He oozed from a cut on his forehead and sprayed from a gash alongside his right eye, leaving his face, opponent's Steve Erceg's chest and the canvas a bloody mess.

But his heart, a championship heart, kept right on beating.

And it's because of that heart that he survived a chaotic and decisive fifth round that all three judges awarded him to ensure a unanimous decision victory.

Erceg was even on two cards heading to the fifth and chose to begin it in search of a takedown, which he secured but quickly saw Pantoja reverse. Another tie-up later in the round also wound up with the champion on top and able to dole out ground punishment while ticking down the seconds, and with them the challenger's chance to rally.

"I'm in here to fight the best in the world and this guy's one of them," Pantoja said. "I think I need to move my head. These guys are hitting me too much. But my grappling is the best in the world."

In all, Pantoja landed nine of 19 takedown attempts compared to Erceg's one of six. The champion also had a wide edge (8:15 to 0:32) in control time, and narrower margins in both overall strikes (143-129) and significant strikes (125-111).

"I was surprised at how well he scrambled," Erceg said. "I thought if I could win the last round, I could give myself a chance."

Official Scores: 48-47 x 2, 49-46, Pantoja

B/R Score: 49-46, Pantoja

Go ahead. You tell Jose Aldo he's finished in the UFC.

The already enshrined Hall of Famer stepped back into the cage after a nearly two-year hiatus and jumped on one of the hottest prospects in the game in Jonathan Martinez, but you'd have never known he'd been gone.

Instead of serving as a sacrificial lamb to put the streaking 12th-ranked contender over, the 37-year-old was busier, sharper and simply better than his 30-year-old foe while cruising to 14th octagonal win since debuting with the promotion at UFC 129 in 2011.

It was Aldo's first win since a Fight Night defeat of Rob Font in December 2021.

And it was the clinical definition of outclassed. He outworked the younger man, was faster and sharper, delivered the more telling blows and landed a hard takedown in the final minute.

"I couldn't imagine this in my wildest dreams," Aldo said. "I'm so flattered. I've been boxing a lot. This is what I've been working on."

Aldo was rumored to be in his final fight with the promotion and he said he'd sit down with the UFC brass, including Dana White, to determine what comes next.

But it didn't seem like he was quite ready to hang up the gloves.

"We'll see where it goes," he said. "I said that this wasn't going to be my last fight. Maybe we can come back here and become a champion."

Official Scores: 30-27 x 3, Aldo

B/R Score: 30-27, Aldo

Anthony Smith told anyone who'd listen.

The 35-year-old had lost three of his last four fights and was spending a lot of time as an analyst, but he insisted his main-card matchup with unbeaten prospect and heavy favorite Vitor Petrino would still be a question of experience faring well against youth.

It took two minutes for him to be proven correct.

The skidding but still-skilled veteran slowed his opponent with leg kicks, seized his neck during a fence-side tie-up and clamped down on the guillotine as the younger man tried to escape with a takedown, drawing a submissive tap after a mere 120 seconds.

Petrino had won four in a row since an appearance on Dana White's Contender Series. Smith, meanwhile, was just 5-5 since a title-fight loss to Jon Jones in 2019.

"I'm a big Vitor Petrino fan but at the end of the day there's levels to this sh-t," Smith said. "This guy's undefeated. He has no reason to question himself or back out of anything. But I've been doing this a long time and I'm always going to win those situations."

Smith did arrive as the No. 10 contender at 205 pounds, despite the slump.

"I'm happy to be back in here," he said. "And for all you haters out there, maybe I'm not so f--king old."

MMA finishes can be beautiful in their brutality.

And they can be a bit scary, too.

Michel Pereira's quick submission win over Ihor Potieria was certainly both.

The Brazilian has been a new man since rising from welterweight to middleweight and he continued a particularly devastating stretch by dropping his foe with a hard left hand and immediately seizing a guillotine that prompted a tap-out after just 54 seconds.

Potieria had risen to his knees by the time Pereira's right arm wrapped around his throat and he instinctively rose to his feet before indicating surrender by tapping his left hand on Pereira's hip. The hold was released and Potieria stood straight up before reeling backward and falling sickeningly to the mat, where he briefly convulsed before recovering.

A spectacle, to be sure. But not one for the faint of heart.

"I knew that I had a lot more weapons than him, so I came to put on a show," Pereira said. "I threw a very hard punch at him, and I knew I could get a submission."

There was a slight hesitation between the tap and the hand raise, though, as cage-side officials reviewed video of the backflip Pereira performed that ended with his knee and shin grazing the stricken fighter's jaw and chest. Had it been a direct hit on the chin, a DQ might have resulted. Instead, it was time for a callout for Pereira, seeking top-15 quarry.

"I'm the UFC showman," he said. "Whoever they put in front of me I'm always gonna put on a show."

It was a question of violent geography.

So long as Brazilian middleweight Caio Borralho kept his Scottish foe, Paul Craig, in a stand-up position and didn't engage when the jiu-jitsu veteran tried to get things to the mat, he'd make their main-card opener an easy competitive proposition.

He did. And it was.

The charismatic "Fighting Nerd" maximized his spotlight slot with a bonus-worthy finish, sending Craig reeling across the mat with a hard flurry before finishing with a hard left hand that instantly dropped him to his in a semi-conscious heap to his knees and then his face.

Referee Marc Goddard made it official with a wave-off at 2:10 of the second.

"I told you all I was gonna KO him and I did," Borralho said. "The smartest way to win against Paul was to knock him out. I'm a fighting nerd. I did my homework."

It was a sixth straight win in the UFC after two wins on Dana White's Contender Series in 2021. He's won 13 in a row overall since a no-contest in 2018 and it's his 15th win since his lone career loss in his second pro fight in 2015.

He followed with a call for a match with a top-10 or top-five contender, specifically mentioning recent title challenger Jared Cannonier.

"You're a scary dude," he said, "but I want to test myself against you."

B/R Score at Stoppage: 10-9, Borralho

One second, Jack Shore's left shin was simply swollen and bruised.

The next second, as blood poured out, it looked like a bullet had passed through it.

The gory scene was enough to force the hand of referee Joao Claudio Soares, who waved the action off at 3:35 of the second round and declared Joanderson Brito a winner by TKO—giving him a fifth straight win by finish, the promotion's second-longest active streak.

Soares, according to the broadcast team, feared Shore's leg might have been broken.

"I'm at another level in this division," Brito said. "I showed that tonight."

He's not wrong.

The 29-year-old Brazilian controlled things from the start against the once-beaten Shore, pressing forward with faster and more precise strikes and gradually building damage on the Welsh featherweight's vulnerable lead leg.

He was particularly precise when attacking the limb, landing 12 of 13 strike attempts to the leg in the initial round and going a perfect 10-for-10 before the stoppage in the second.

"(The stoppage) is interesting because (the blood is) nowhere near affecting the face," analyst Paul Felder said. "But to err on the side of caution, I guess I'm OK with it."

B/R Score at Stoppage: 10-9, Brito

It was the largest age discrepancy in UFC women's history. And the longer the fight went, the easier it was to recognize which fighter was 22 and which was 38.

Brazilian youngster Iasmin Lucindo continued an impressive early run against her highest-profile opponent, grinding down veteran Karolina Kowalkiewicz over three one-sided rounds while securing a clear-as-it-comes unanimous decision in a strawweight prelim.

"What's most impressive about Lucindo is that she's fighting Karolina in her best form," analyst Daniel Cormier said. "She just dominated and didn't give her any chances."

Indeed, though far older, Kowalkiewicz arrived on a four-fight win streak that stretched back to her most recent loss at UFC 265 in 2021. She'd been a title challenger years before, too, dropping a wide decision to then-champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 205.

Lucindo earned her third straight win with the promotion after dropping her debut on a Fight Night show in 2022.

"I expected a great fight," she said. "I expected a war, but I prepared for it."

Official Scores: 30-27 x 3, Lucindo

B/R Score: 30-27, Lucindo

It took six fights to finally bring some post-fight drama.

Kyrgyzstan mauler Myktybek Orolbai was a clear winner in the first two rounds against Brazilian lightweight Elves Brener, pelting him from the outside, mauling him along the fence and grinding him down on the mat.

But the heavy pace over 10 minutes took its toll in the third, and, as Brener surged and sought a takedown of his own, Orolbai's blatant fence grab with his left hand prompted immediate action from referee Fernando Portella in the form of a point deduction.

Given the new math, a one-point win in the third would presumably allow the local to overcome the deficit and secure a draw on the scorecards. And he seemed poised to do so until the final seconds when a hard right hand from Orolbai dropped him to his backside.

It turned out to be the decisive shot of the night -- at least officially -- and allowed Orolbai to lock in a 9-9 margin on all three scorecards and escape with a narrow decision.

Orolbai ended with statistical advantages in strikes, takedowns and control time, though Brener had edges in all three categories across the final five minutes.

Not a criminal result by any means. But certainly a curious one.

Official Scores: 29-27 x 3, Orolbai

B/R Score: 28-28, Even

Drakkar Klose was like a marathon runner whose tank was empty.

Though he'd excelled for most of the first two rounds, it was clear as the third round began that he'd be fortunate to get through five minutes against a still aggressive and clearly still powerful foe in Joaquim Silva.

Klose was wobbled by a combination in the first 60 seconds of the third, on the wrong end of a guillotine choke just past its midpoint and wobbled again down the stretch as a desperate Silva, backed by a raucous crowd, chased a decisive finish.

Silva didn't get it. Klose, who'd arrived on a three-fight run, is now the holder of the lightweight division's fourth-longest active win streak at four.

And he's refined his callout game, too, seizing the post-fight moment to chase fights with either sixth-ranked former foe Beneil Dariush or No. 12 contender Jalin Turner, whose "Tarantula" nickname was subbed out in favor of a derisive "Beetle" label.

Official Scores: 29-28 x 3, Klose

B/R Score: 29-28, Klose

Not every impressive start yields a successful career.

But Mauricio Ruffy certainly looks like that guy.

And guys who know what they're looking at seem to agree.

The chatty Brazilian made his official UFC debut in spectacular style in Saturday's early prelim feature, prompting Conor McGregor comparisons while bludgeoning 10-fight octagonal veteran Jamie Mullarkey into a first-round stoppage at lightweight.

"The way he is piecing this guy up and the way he is accurate with his instincts," trainer Din Thomas said, "he reminds me of a young Conor."

Double champ Daniel Cormier agreed.

"That was one of the greatest UFC debuts we've seen in a long time," he said.

Ruffy, a 27-year-old working with the Fighting Nerds training team, was creative and devastating against a proven and rugged foe, bloodying Mullarkey's nose with punches, taking him down with a clever scissor sweep and ultimately getting the finishing with a jumping knee that was followed by a half-dozen unfettered right hands to the head.

Referee Mike Beltran intervened at 4:42 of the first, probably 30 seconds too late.

Soon after, Ruffy grabbed the mic with a superstar-level callout of Islam Makhachev.

"Enjoy your days at the top," he said. "The new king is coming."

Dione Barbosa clearly won the first round with grappling.

Ernesta Kareckaite absolutely won the third round with striking.

So, their early prelim flyweight bout came down to the second round.

And given that the five-minute middle session saw the Brazilian get the fight to the mat early and land the more impressive, if not the more plentiful strikes, it was surely no crime to see her emerge as the winner of a narrow but unanimous decision.

It didn't look like it'd last too long at the start after Barbosa, a judo black belt, tripped Kareckaite to the mat and quickly seized her neck. But the relative newcomer survived to finish the round and gradually worked her way back into the fight as her foe tired.

She was clearly in charge by the third but never landed the sort of blows that could end things early, which meant the decisiveness of the first 10 minutes carried the day.

"I defintely think I did enough," Barbosa said. "I imposed my game. I imposed my pace."

Official Scores: 29-28 x 3, Barbosa

B/R Score: 29-28, Barbosa

There's a reason why 41-year-olds and 28-year-olds don't fight.

Because when they do, it's nearly always a younger man's game.

That was certainly the case in Saturday's second early prelim fight at lightweight, where local favorite Ismael Bonfim outworked Vinc Pichel for nearly every moment of their 15 minutes together while cruising to an easy-to-score unanimous decision shutout.

The two men had been scheduled to fight several months ago before their meeting was scrubbed by Bonfim's multi-pound miss on the scales. He rededicated himself to the craft in the aftermath and the changes were evident in his work as he was consistently faster, busier and more creative in a bout that was almost exclusively fought on the feet.

"Watching Bonfim, I can see where all the expectations came from," analyst Daniel Cormier said. "While he does possess all of the same qualities, he looks more refined. He looked as good as we've ever seen him look."

The stats illustrated the story of Bonfim's accuracy, showing the winner with a 51 percent (111 of 216) success rate on his significant strike attempts and leaving the evidence on Pichel's face in the form of bumps, bruises and redness.

Official Scores: 30-27 x 3, Bonfim

B/R Score: 30-27, Bonfim

Alessandro Costa is a Brazilian-born flyweight who trains and fights out of Mexico.

So he was understandably concerned about appearing on a pay-per-view card in Rio.

But he needn't have worried.

A narrow loser to title challenger Steve Erceg in his most recent fight six months ago, the 28-year-old was confident, concise and powerful on the way to a second-round stoppage of Kevin Borjas in the early prelim opener that began in front of a near-empty building shortly after 6 p.m. ET.

There was little to discern between the two in a tight first round that included 31 total strikes—16 for Costa—but he scored well with the left hand late in the session and turned the tide in the second with hard kicks that buckled his foe's left knee and forced him to the floor twice.

A swarm of hammer fists soon followed and referee Joao Claudio Soares intervened at 1:35 after Costa gained a full-mount position on a near-defenseless Borjas.

B/R Score at Stoppage: 10-9, Costa