Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
UFC 299 Preview
March 7, 2024
BANGER ALERT! While a lot of excitement continues to surround the UFC 300 card next month, UFC 299 is this weekend and fight fans - it’s looking GOOD! Let’s take a look at the card…
UFC 299: “O’Malley vs. Vera 2”
March 9, 2024
Location: Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida
Broadcast: ESPN+ PPV, ESPN News, ESPN+
Start times: 6 p.m. ET Prelims | 10 p.m. ET PPV Main Card
UFC 299 Main Card On ESPN+ PPV (10 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: UFC Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera
155 lbs.: Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis
170 lbs.: Kevin Holland vs. Michael Page
170 lbs.: Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena
135 lbs.: Petr Yan vs. Song Yadong
UFC 299 ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPN/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):
265 lbs.: Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida
125 lbs.: Katlyn Cerminara vs. Maycee Barber
155 lbs.: Mateusz Gamrot vs. Rafael dos Anjos
135 lbs.: Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Phillips
UFC 299 Early ‘Prelims’ Card On Fight Pass/ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET)
205 lbs.: Ion Cutelaba vs. Philipe Lins
185 lbs.: Michel Pereira vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
265 lbs.: Robelis Despaigne vs. Josh Parisian
125 lbs.: C.J. Vergara vs. Asu Almabaev
125 lbs.: Joanne Wood vs. Maryna Moroz
Why am I so excited for this card? Let’s take a look…
The Prelims
What do I always say in these write ups? Say it with me - don’t sleep on the Prelims! UFC 299’s Prelims are not just any regular fights that take place on the Prelims. We have some legitimately fun matchups on the undercard. On the Early Prelims, Despaigne vs. Parisian will be two meaty men slapping meat. Michel Pereira on the Early Prelims is a gift and Oleksiejczuk will make it a fight, for sure. Lastly, Cutelaba vs. Lins has the chance to possibly steal the show, especially early on, with how they tend to go after it. Tune in early to catch these fights!
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Rafael dos Anjos
The Prelims on ESPN that start at 8 PM EST show just how stacked this card is. Gamrot vs. dos Anjos would be a great main card fight and could probably main event a Fight Night without anyone blinking an eye. Instead, these two men will battle on the Prelims. Gamrot will be looking to get a clear, definitive finish after winning his last two fights by split decision (against Jalin Turner) and due to injury (Rafael Fiziev). If he does so, then he’ll make a case to have another big fight to see if he can get in line for a potential title fight down the road. RdA won’t make it easy, though. Rafael dos Anjos will be returning to Lightweight and will try to show that he has one last strong run in him. The clock is definitely ticking, though, as he will be 40 later this year.
Katlyn Cerminara vs. Maycee Barber
I am really looking forward to this one. Maycee Barber has been on fire, coming into this fight on a five win streak. She has shown that she has that dog in her, winning a tough fight against Amanda Ribas in her last time out. She will be taking a step up in competition against Katlyn Cerminara (née Chookagian). Cerminara has not fought since late 2022 due to fertility issues. She is returning with a lot of emotion and looking to make a statement with her focus back on MMA.
Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida
This is another fight that could headline a show. It is the featured Prelim fight, though, instead. I’m not complaining! This is a very important fight in the Heavyweight Division. Almeida has not lost since 2018 and has won 15 straight. Curtis Blaydes is coming off a loss to the very dangerous Sergei Pavlovich, but continues to hover around the top of the division. Whoever wins this will definitely continue to climb the division’s rankings, which is perfect timing because there are a lot of questions at the top of the division with Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic possibly retiring after their next fight. Expect this fight to be your non-traditional heavyweight fight. Both men like to go to the ground - with Almeida looking for submissions and Blaydes liking to use his size to wrestle.
Petr Yan vs. Song Yadong
Kicking off the main card is a surging Song Yadong going against Petr Yan, who is desperately looking to get back on track. Yadong’s only loss since 2021 was due to doctor stoppage. Yan is trying to keep his losing streak at 3. Yadong has been climbing the rankings, while Yan has been slipping. Still, Yan is a tough opponent and his recent losses have come against champions and contenders. This will be a fun fight at 135 and will create a possible future contender.
Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Burns had a very active early 2023 - maybe TOO active. He last fought in May on short notice and did not look very good against Belal Muhammad. I’m happy he took the rest of the year off because he is looking re-energized going into this tough fight with Jack Della Maddalena. JDM started his career going 0-2. He is now 16-2. It’s safe to say he has figured this MMA thing out. His last two fights, though, have been split decisions, so he will be looking to have a “no question” win here to start his climb up the rankings. Fists will be flying here.
Kevin Holland vs. Michael Page
Wow! I know a lot of people wanted Page to debut in the UFC against Stephen Thompson, but Kevin Holland is a great “Option B.” Page had a lot of success in Bellator and Kevin Holland is always dangerous. Page will be looking to prove he belongs in the promotion. Holland is a great gatekeeper, though, and will make the test very hard.
Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis
Oh my lord - this fight. I am HYPED for this one! Poirier is looking to use Saint-Denis to right the ship. However, Saint-Denis has been on fire. A win for Saint-Denis will not only be huge, but it’ll put his name on the map, for sure, and make him someone to truly keep an eye out. Poirier needs to be careful here. He is in the second half of his career. A win gets him flowing again. A loss will have people questioning how much longer he can do this. To many people’s surprise, Poirier is coming in as the betting underdog. However, if you’ve seen Saint-Denis fight, it kind of makes sense. Either way, I do think this is a toss up and will be a crazy fight. Poirier asked for five rounds for this and it was granted. While I don’t expect it to go that long, if it does - expect blood!
Sean O’Malley (champion) vs. Marlon Vera for the Bantamweight Championship
Marlon Vera, in 32 fights, has never been knocked down or finished by KO or submission. He has the second most fights in UFC history (behind Jon Jones) without a loss by finish. He will be taking on a man who specializes in knocking people out - Sean O’Malley. It gets more interesting: O’Malley’s only official loss came to Marlon Vera in 2020. There’s a bit of a question with the loss, though. O’Malley had drop foot due to a kick and Vera took advantage of it - but O’Malley doesn’t make too many excuses. He’s looking to right that wrong and prove that he can not only beat Vera, but be the first person to knock him out. Whoever wins has Merab Dvalishvili (who is weighing in as a backup for this fight) next. It’ll be back-to-back really tough fights for either man. I can’t wait!
For fun, here are my picks…
UFC 299 Main Card On ESPN+ PPV (10 p.m. ET):
Sean O’Malley
Dustin Poirier
Michael Page
Jack Della Maddalena
Song Yadong
UFC 299 ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPN/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):
Jailton Almeida
Maycee Barber
Mateusz Gamrot
Kyler Phillips
UFC 299 Early ‘Prelims’ Card On Fight Pass/ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET)
Ion Cutelaba
Michel Pereira
Robelis Despaigne
Asu Almabaev
Maryna Moroz
Most of the fights are toss ups, so I am not too confident in my picks. That gets me excited because not only is this card great, it’s very unpredictable. It’s going to be a fun PPV, for sure!
Do you plan on watching? If so, who do you have winning? Let me know about matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com. I hope you enjoy the show! I’ll be back next week to talk about the PPV and what MMA has coming up next.
