The UFC returns to Rio de Janeiro this weekend for the first time since January 2023 with a fight card chock full of Brazilian talent.
Before a five-fight main card that’ll see Alexandre Pantoja attempt to defend his flyweight title on home soil against Steve Erceg, and before Hall of Famer Jose Aldo returns from retirement to face fellow leg-kicker Jonathan Martinez, there will be 18 fighters competing on the preliminary card.
The event features a handful of the top prospects, particularly from the lighter weight classes, so with that in mind here are five in particular to keep an eye on during the UFC 301 preliminary card.
Joanderson Brito
He might not yet be a household name but that may only be a matter of time before every fight fan knows who Joanderson Brito is. The 29-year-old lost two of his first three pro bouts but has amassed a 15-1-1 record since then with that one loss a three-round decision to Bill Algeo more than two years ago. He has picked up four stoppage wins since dropping his UFC debut, two via strikes and two via submission, and prior to getting on the UFC map he picked up a highlight knockout win over Chepe Mariscal and holds a win over the touted Diego Lopes on Dana White’s Contender Series. Lopes recently debuted at No. 14 in the featherweight rankings.
Brito has a chance to really put himself on the map at 145 pounds with a standout performance in the featured televised preliminary bout before the pay-per-view main card begins.
Jack Shore
The other half of the featured prelim used to be among the top bantamweight prospects in MMA but is now looking to have an impact at featherweight. The year 2022 wasn’t kind to Shore as the 29-year-old from Wales suffered his first loss in MMA – an arm-triangle submission to Ricky Simon – then a significant knee injury that kept him out of action until he returned to a new division in March of 2023. Shore picked up a rear-naked choke submission win over veteran Makwan Amirkhani. It was his first fight at 145 pounds since his pro debut back in 2016. A win over a streaking talent like Brito would establish Shore as a new force in the weight class.
Iasmin Lucindo
Iasmin Lucindo has been looking forward to a matchup with Karolina Kowalkiewicz since last summer, long before the two were paired to meet at UFC 301. The young Brazilian strawweight asked to face the one-time 115-pound title challenger after earning a submission win over Polyana Viana. Lucindo mentioned then she felt a scrap with Kowalkiewicz would end up being a fun striking matchup in addition to being an old generation vs. new generation pairing. The 22-year-old is 9-1 in her past 10 bouts and more than half of her wins have come by KO/TKO. Kowalkiewicz, on the other hand, is on the longest winning streak of her UFC career right now. The popular 38-year-old Polish fighter has won four in a row after previously being in the middle of a 2-7 stretch.
Myktybek Orolbai
The lightweight division is always churning out new promising contenders and Myktybek Orolbai is one of the latest intriguing talents to keep an eye on. The 26-year-old from Kyrgyzstan submitted Uros Medic with a nasty neck crank in his UFC debut this past November, a win has gotten even better with time as Medic is fresh off a highlight knockout win. Different division, different fighter, but it’s not entirely outlandish to draw some comparisons to undefeated welterweight star Shavkat Rakhmonov — at least in the way Orolbai has dominated and finished some of his recent foes.
Orolbai has shown strong wrestling and control, plus his one-punch KO power is something all his opponents must be aware of.
Alessandro Costa
Kicking off the early prelims is Brazil’s Costa taking on Kevin Borjas. While Borjas is looking to bounce back from a loss to another promising 125-pound prospect, Josh Van, Costa is hoping to avoid losing three of his first four UFC appearances. A seven-fight winning streak from 2019-2022 earned him a UFC contract. Although the 28-year-old’s 1-2 UFC record leaves much to be desired, he learned a pair of valuable lessons in those two losses. Costa’s debut was against Amir Albazi, a fighter who’s 5-0 in the UFC and looks like a possible future champion. Costa also knows what it’s like to be in the cage with the current title challenger. Costa lost a three-round decision to Steve Erceg his last time out, winning the second round on all three scorecards. Will Costa’s high level of competition end up being the difference Saturday?
