301 is one of the worst PPVs in a while. No, it's not the worst, but even by 2024 standards, it's terrible. I DON'T fault the UFC though, in fact, I was sure this was going to happen for PPVs and Fight Nights for about 6 events after the blowout card they did for UFC 300.
UFC 300 had 3 PPV level headliners, about 4 solid Fight Night level main events and another 3 low quality Fight Night headliners. That's like 10 main events in ONE card.
Naturally, the next 6 cards or so are going to be weak, unless 10 elite fighters all of a sudden decided they should fight 3 times a year instead of 1 or 2.
Pantoja is a completely unknown and unproven champion and he's fighting against a guy with 3 wins in the UFC against opponents no one knows. Love Martinez, but he's not well known yet and Aldo is way past his prime and retired as far as I'm concerned. Anthony Smith is 1-3 in his last 4. Pereira and Craig are solid, but they're not fighting against each other, they're fighting against nobodies.
Anyhow, I'm going to watch, I'm a MMA fan, I don't need big names. But PPVs are judged by big names and relevance and this one has nothing.