UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg date, fight card, channel guide

UFC 301 will take place at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday, May 4. The event will mark the promotion’s first visit to the city since UFC 283 on Jan. 21, 2023.

UFC 301 has been overshadowed by the hype around UFC 300, UFC 302, and the UFC 303 events but there's several interesting matchups that can have an impact on the title pictures of many divisions.

In the main event, Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja will attempt the second defense of his UFC flyweight title against a relative newcomer and No. 10-ranked flyweight Steve Erceg. Pantoja won the 125-pound title by defeating Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 and successfully defended it against Brandon Royval at UFC 296 in December 2023.

Meanwhile, Erceg is the former Eternal MMA flyweight champion who made his UFC debut with a win over David Dvorak. He holds a 3-0 record in the UFC and defeated Matt Schnell via round two knockout in his most recent outing, which earned him the title shot against Pantoja.

The co-main event is a special surprise for old-school MMA fans as former WEC and UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will come out of retirement to fight No. 12-ranked bantamweight contender Jonathan Martinez.

Considered one of the greatest featherweight champions in UFC history, Aldo was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023. Against the popular notion of potentially making a run for the lightweight title, Aldo moved down to bantamweight towards the end of his career. He retired from competition following a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278 in August 2022 but returns to have one final fight where he is "King of Rio".

Apart from the main and co-main event, the UFC 301 card features prominent fighters like Anthony Smith, Michel Pereira, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and Paul Craig.

Following are the fights you can expect to watch at this weekend’s UFC 301 pay-per-view event (Subject to change):

UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg fight card

Main Card | PPV | 10 p.m. ET

• Alexandre Pantoja (27-5) vs. Steve Erceg (12-1)
• Jonathan Martinez (19-4) vs. Jose Aldo (31-8)
• Anthony Smith (37-19) vs. Vitor Petrino (11-0)
• Michel Pereira (30-11) vs. Ihor Potieria (20-5)
• Paul Craig (17-7-1) vs. Caio Borralho (15-1-0, 1NC)

Preliminary card | ESPN+ | 8 p.m. ET

• Jack Shore (17-1) vs. Joanderson Brito (16-3-1)
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz (16-7) vs. Iasmin Lucindo (15-5)
• Elves Brener (16-3) vs. Myktybek Orolbai (12-1-1)
• Jean Silva (12-2) vs. William Gomis (13-2)

Early Prelim | ESPN+ & UFC Fight Pass | 6 p.m. ET

• Joaquim Silva (13-5) vs. Drakkar Klose (14-2-1)
• Mauricio Ruffy (9-1-0) vs. Jamie Mullarkey (17-7)
• Dione Barbosa (6-2) vs. Ernesta Kareckaite (5-0-1)
• Ismael Bonfim (19-4) vs. Vinc Pichel (14-3)
• Alessandro Costa (13-4) vs. Kevin Borjas (9-2)

UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg betting odds

According to DraftKings, Pantoja is a -200 favorite heading into the UFC 301 main event clash while his challenger Erceg is a +165 underdog. In the co-main event, returning veteran Jose Aldo is a +135 underdog against the much younger Jonathan Martinez, who is a -165 favorite. Middleweight contender Michel Pereira is the biggest -535 betting favorite on the card and his opponent Ihor Potieria, who stepped up to fight on short notice, is the +400 underdog.