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Alexandre Pantoja will defend his flyweight title in the main event of UFC 301 this evening, against an unlikely contender in Steve Erceg.

Pantoja took the title from Brandon Moreno in July before retaining the gold against Brandon Royval in December, and the landscape at 125lbs has left the Brazilian without an obvious challenger.

Many fans expected Muhammad Mokaev to get the next shot, but when the Briton narrowly beat Alex Perez in March, he was outshone by Erceg that night. As such, the 10th-ranked Australian – who produced a stunning knockout of Matt Schnell – has been granted a title shot ahead of seventh-ranked Mokaev.

Erceg will fight Pantoja on the latter’s home turf in Brazil, while featherweight legend Jose Aldo ends his retirement to face Jonathan Martinez in a bantamweight co-main event.

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When is UFC 301?

UFC 301 is scheduled to take place at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday 4 May.

The early prelims are due to begin at 11pm BST (3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET), with the regular prelims following at 1am BST on Sunday (5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET on Saturday). The main card is then set for 3am BST on Sunday (7pm PT / 9pm CT / 10pm ET on Saturday).

How can I watch it?

The card will air live on TNT Sports in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. Discovery+ will also air the action in the UK. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the event live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the event, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider.

Odds

Pantoja – 2/5

Erceg – 2/1

Via Betway. Get all the latest UFC betting sites’ offers.

Full card (subject to change)

Main card

Alexandre Pantoja (C) vs Steve Erceg (men’s flyweight title)

Jonathan Martinez vs Jose Aldo (bantamweight)

Anthony Smith vs Vitor Petrino (light-heavyweight)

Michel Pereira vs Ihor Potieria (middleweight)

Paul Craig vs Caio Borralho (middleweight)

Prelims

Jack Shore vs Joanderson Brito (featherweight)

Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Iasmin Lucindo (women’s strawweight)

Elves Brener vs Myktybek Orolbai (lightweight)

Early prelims

Joaquim Silva vs Drakkar Klose (lightweight)

Mauricio Ruffy vs Jamie Mullarkey (lightweight)

Dione Barbosa vs Ernesta Kareckaite (women’s flyweight)

Ismael Bonfim vs Vinc Pichel (lightweight)

Alessandro Costa vs Kevin Borjas (flyweight)

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