The UFC 300 bout order has been tweaked ever so slightly, but the change probably involves the most highly-controversial initial placement.
During Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 239 broadcast, the promotion announced Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage will now open the Saturday, April 13 main card at T-Mobile Arena. Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Sarukian will follow directly after.
The change comes seven days after the promotion’s first full fight card bout order was released during the UFC 299 main card broadcast on March 9. The preliminary order was Nickal (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Brundage (10-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) followed by Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) vs. Tsarukyan (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC), which has sparked much discussion and debate among fans.
Brundage prompted a stream of online messages, as she tweeted “Y’all know I work here, right?” Meanwhile, Nickal expressed confidence in the placement, saying that his presence boosted pay-per-view buys.
Regardless, Nickal, Brundage, Oliveira, and Tsarukyan will still be in the paid portion of the event, just a little earlier.
With the changes, the UFC 300 fight card includes:
UFC 300 MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champion Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill – for light heavyweight title
- Champion Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan – for women’s strawweight title
- Champion Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway – for “BMF” title
- Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan
- Cody Brundage vs. Bo Nickal
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic
- Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling
- Kayla Harrison vs. Holly Holm
- Diego Lopes vs. Sodiq Yusuff
- Renato Moicano vs. Jalin Turner
- Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez
- Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt