Ben Askren has recently shared his thoughts on Dana White’s announcement regarding the main event for UFC 300, which is slated to take place less than two months from now on April 13th at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
The former Bellator and ONE champion expressed his disappointment with White’s decision to feature a light heavyweight title bout between Alex Pereira (9-2 MMA) and Jamahal Hill (12-1 MMA) as the main event of UFC 300.
Pereira, the reigning champion, will be defending his title against Hill, having secured victories over Jan Blachowicz (20-10 MMA) and Jiri Prochazka (29-4 MMA) in his previous fights.
Hill, who has won his last four fights in the Octagon, including a recent victory over Glover Teixeira (33-9 MMA) in January of 2023 at UFC 283, is expected to provide a formidable challenge to Pereira.
During a recent episode of the ‘Funky & the Champ’ podcast alongside Daniel Cormier, Askren expressed his views on the Pereira vs. Hill matchup, acknowledging the efforts made by White while also conveying a sense of disappointment:
“You know, this is what I tell my athletes. Dana, you tried your best. You worked hard to get something. You let us down a little bit, but it happens sometimes! We can’t all be the best every time.”
Askren further elaborated on his sentiments regarding the UFC 300 lineup, expressing his belief that while the fights on the card are compelling, they may lack the grandiosity expected for such a milestone event like UFC 300:
“Now, these are good fights. This (main event) is a fun fight, and it is a great fight card. But it doesn’t feel like UFC 300ish, it doesn’t. We needed something a little bigger, like Pereira vs. (Tom) Aspinall, Jon Jones coming back, (Conor) McGregor vs. (Michael) Chandler. He (White) tried, he tried to make it happen… I will be excited to watch, but it doesn’t have the feel that — you remember UFC 100?”
The lineup for UFC 300 includes several notable matchups, such as champion Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway for the BMF title and champion Weilli Zhang vs. Xiaonan Yan for the strawweight title, among others.
However, despite the presence of these exciting fights, Askren suggests that there might be a sense of something missing – a defining showdown that would elevate the event to a level reminiscent of past milestones like UFC 100.
What are your thoughts on Ben Askren’s assessment? Do you believe UFC 300 is lacking that one marquee matchup? Share your opinions in the comment section below!
