Ukrainian middleweight Ihor Potieria is back in action on May 4, when he faces Brazil’s Michel Pereira at UFC 301: Pantoja vs Erceg. The MMA event airs live on pay-per-view from Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Potieria (20-5) makes his second Octagon appearance for the year and targets his second win in a row. Kyiv’s 27-year-old defeated Robert Bryczek by unanimous decision in February.
Las Vegas-based Pereira (30-11, 2 NC) is riding a seven-fight winning streak. The 30-year-old native of Maraba, Para is fresh off the win by submission in the first round against Michal Oleksiejczuk in March.
Pereira was originally scheduled to face Makhmud Muradov. According to MMA Fighting, the latter was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an infection. Potieria was expected to face Sharabutdin Magomedov at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Chimaev in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 22.
In the main event, Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil defends his flyweight title against Steve Erceg of Australia. In the co-main event, Brazil’s former featherweight champion Jose Aldo makes his Octagon return against Jonathan Martinez of Los Angeles.
The current UFC 301 lineup looks as the following:
- Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg, flyweight – Pantoja’s UFC 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
- Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore, featherweight
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo, women’s strawweight
- Elves Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai, lightweight
- Jean Silva vs. William Gomis, featherweight
- 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