UFC 301 in Brazil will see Paul Felder replace Joe Rogan on color commentary, joining Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier, with Kayrn Bryant as the in-house reporter, as Alexandre Pantoja defends his flyweight title against Steve Erceg and Jose Aldo returns from retirement to face Jonathan Martinez.
UFC 301’s hitting Brazil this Saturday night. But, hey, don’t expect to see Joe Rogan on the broadcast team. He’s taking the night off, folks.
Why, you ask? Well, Rogan doesn’t do international events. So, who’s filling his shoes? Paul Felder, that’s who. He’ll be doing the color commentary, straight from Rio de Janeiro.
Jon Anik, the play-by-play guy, and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier. Cormier’s pretty much a regular on pay-per-view broadcasts.
Then there’s Kayrn Bryant. She’s the one doing the backstage interviews from Brazil. UFC officials confirmed all this to MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
What’s the main event at UFC 301? It’s flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja defending his title against Steve Erceg. Erceg’s been on a roll since he joined UFC, with three straight wins. But, he’s up against Pantoja now, and it’s his first shot at UFC gold.
It’s UFC legend Jose Aldo, back from retirement, against Jonathan Martinez. Aldo’s last UFC fight was in August 2022. He lost to Merab Dvalishvili, then announced his retirement.
But Aldo’s been busy. He did a couple of boxing matches in 2023. Now, he’s back to his old UFC stomping grounds, presumably for one last hurrah. UFC 301 is likely his final bout under his current contract with UFC.
The main card for UFC 301 starts at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view. The prelims? They’re kicking off at 6 p.m. ET.