Top Five UFC Fights To Look Forward To In May

Fast and furious UFC action is in store in May, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he highlights the five most-anticipated match-ups of the month, including a clash for the flyweight championship of the world.

Alexandre Pantoja v Steve Erceg

Sunday, May 5 SA time

The month starts with a bang in Brazil where local favourite Pantoja makes the second defence of his flyweight title against Australia’s Erceg in the main event of UFC 301.

It’s a strange bit of matchmaking to put it kindly as Erceg’s a relatively unknown fighter less than a year into his UFC career, so much so that when he was announced as the next challenger, the general response from his peers on social media was “Who?”

The 27-year-old has won all three of his fights inside the Octagon to date, with his latest victory – a second-round knockout of Matt Schnell in March – evidently enough to earn him a surprise shot at the 125-pound gold.

Will he shock the world against the battle-tested champion, or will he find himself out of his depth? We won’t have to wait long to find out. 

Jonathan Martinez v Jose Aldo

Sunday, May 5 SA time

The UFC’s return to Brazil will see one of the country’s fighting icons, Aldo, come out of retirement to compete in the co-headliner.

The Hall of Famer and former long-time featherweight champion called time on his career in 2022 but returns at the age of 37 to fight in front of his home fans.

Martinez has an unforeseen opportunity of a lifetime to claim a legendary scalp. He’s won 10 of his 13 UFC bouts and is on a six-fight win streak, most recently defeating Adrian Yanez by second-round TKO last October.

Will it be a triumphant return for one of the all-time greats or will Martinez rain on the King of Rio’s parade?

Anthony Smith v Vitor Petrino

Sunday, May 5 SA time

UFC 301’s card includes this compelling clash of old lion versus young lion.

Smith is a former title challenger and a mainstay in the light heavyweight top 10. Down to fight anyone, anytime, the veteran has competed against the who’s who at 205 pounds and doesn’t plan on giving up his spot to Petrino.

The Brazilian is an undefeated prospect who’s rattled off 11 wins, four of which have come inside the Octagon. It’ll be interesting to see whether the experience and grit of the grizzled “Lionheart” or the exuberance and explosiveness of Petrino wins out.

Derrick Lewis v Rodrigo Nascimento

Sunday, May 12 SA time

Top-15 heavyweights trade leather in a headlining slugfest at the Enterprise Center in St Louis.

Lewis is one of the biggest fan favourites in the UFC. An old-school brawler, he has one goal in mind for every fight – to take his opponent’s head off as fast as possible and holds the record for the most knockouts in UFC history with 14.

Three straight wins will see Nascimento enter uncharted waters as he competes in his maiden UFC main event. A skilled grappler, he hopes to score the biggest win of his career.

Edson Barboza v Lerone Murphy

Sunday, May 19 SA time

One of the most exciting fighters in UFC history faces off against one of the hottest rising stars in mixed martial arts in the main event of UFC Vegas 92.

Barboza is a Brazilian buzzsaw, a striker extraordinaire with one of the most awe-inspiring highlight reels around. The veteran is still going strong, finding himself just outside of the featherweight top 10 and hunting his third win in a row following thrilling triumphs over Billy Quarantillo and Sodiq Yusuff.

England’s Murphy is undefeated and determined to make a serious statement as he steps into the main event spotlight for the first time. Part of the new wave of MMA fighters, he started his UFC career with a draw against Zubaira Tukhugov before going on to win five on the bounce to break into the top 15.

Quintin van Jaarsveld

Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.