UFC 299 and UFC 300 are “stacked” is something you might be hearing regularly. UFC CEO Dana White has tried his best to create exciting fight cards from top to bottom for the milestone PPV and the preceding PPV. UFC fans are in for a ride as some big fights are set to take place in the coming weeks. Let’s take a detailed look at the fight cards and get a hang of what the fans are expecting.
UFC 299 is set to take place on March 9, 2024, at the Kaseya Center, in Miami, Florida. UFC 300 is set to take place on April 13, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Big things happening in Miami this week 🌴
We’re taking over for #UFC299 👊 pic.twitter.com/KTk1vb7jn1
— UFC (@ufc) March 4, 2024
As of now, UFC 299 has 14 fights scheduled compared to 12 of UFC 300. A big factor in favor of UFC 300 is the number of title bouts. UFC 299 has one title bout with Sean O’Malley set to defend his UFC Bantamweight Championship against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
On the other hand, UFC 300 has three title bouts, one being the symbolic BMF title. At UFC 300, Alex Pereira will defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Jamahal Hill. In an all-Chinese title fight, the women’s strawweight title will be defended by Zhang Weili against Yan Xiaonan. Lastly, Justin Gaethje will defend the BMF title against Max Holloway at lightweight. Moreover, Arman Tsarukyan takes on Charles Oliviera in a #1 contender fight.
You won’t want to miss this!#UFC300 tickets are on sale NOW 🚨
👉 https://t.co/3CjxZWK7mJ pic.twitter.com/uzyTwEt1zp
— UFC (@ufc) February 23, 2024
When it comes to significance, UFC 300 is leaps and bounds ahead of UFC 299. However, competition-wise, UFC 299 matches up. In the co-main event at UFC 299, Dustin Poirier takes on Benoit Saint-Denis in a five-round fight. Michael ‘Venom’ Page makes his UFC debut at UFC 299 against Kevin Holland. Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan also takes to the Octagon against Song Yadong.
Predicting the PPV buys for UFC 299 and UFC 300
Both fight cards consist of fighters who have sold a massive number of PPVs in the UFC careers. UFC 300 fighters such as Gaethje, Holloway, and Pereira have sold more than 500,000 PPVs regularly. Although O’Malley’s PPV numbers have been controversial, there is no doubt that UFC 299 is going to generate a huge amount through PPVs.
UFC 299 & 300 have to be the two best PPV cards back to back in history collectively pic.twitter.com/TdklOaIz6o
— ape (@qpe) March 1, 2024
What creates difficulty in predicting UFC PPV buys is the fact that they are not disclosed anymore. UFC PPV buys used to be disclosed earlier but since ESPN has joined in, PPV buys have not been disclosed.
Going far behind, UFC 100 in 2009, the UFC reportedly sold around 1.3 million PPVs. UFC 200 saw a little decrease as the PPV buys were just over 1 million. The UFC’s highest reported PPV buy was for UFC 229: Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov. Almost 2.4 million PPVs were sold. McGregor dominates UFC PPV buys as he is a part of at least 8 of the top 10 UFC PPV sales.
Conor McGregor’s PPV Buys 💰 #UFC #MMATwitter pic.twitter.com/c1Cm22NaD9
— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) January 7, 2024
No McGregor will prove to be a loss for UFC. He was rumored to be a part of the bout for a long time but he will not be making an appearance inside the Octagon yet.
Recently, UFC 297’s reported PPV buys were said to be over 500,000. There is still no news on UFC 298’s reported PPV buys. However, with the stacked fight card, 1 million PPV buys, or at least close to that should be expected for UFC 299. For UFC 300, the PPV buys will likely be more than UFC 299. Although they might not reach McGregor vs Khabib numbers, however, significantly over 1 million buys should not come as a surprise.
What do the fans think about UFC 299 and UFC 300 fight cards?
Fans are extremely torn apart when it comes to choosing between the fight cards. White hyped the UFC 300 main event like no other before announcing Pereira vs. Hill. Many fans did not like the idea of it headlining UFC 300 but in the grand scheme of things, fans realized that the fight card was extraordinary.
One fan wrote, “UFC 299 & 300 have to be the two best PPV cards back to back in history collectively.” Another fan wrote, “Overly excited for UFC 299 & 300. Just an unreal product week in and week out.”
UFC 300 is leaps and bounds better than UFC 299. Change my mind. pic.twitter.com/hmEQ4gBu0l
— Ovin Vithanage (@OvinVithanage) February 27, 2024
Many fans made their minds up about which card is better. One fan wrote, “UFC 300 is leaps and bounds better than UFC 299. Change my mind.” Another wrote, “Crazy how 299 is better than 300. The ufc for sure dropped the ball.”
One fan summed up his thoughts, “UFC 299 might have some good names on it but UFC 300 looks more promising in terms of fights being bangers .”
Fans are divided between which card is better but there is no doubt about the cards being “stacked” and the fights being “bangers.”