Promises kept: UFC 300 was the greatest night of fighting in MMA history

LAS VEGAS — Isn’t it nice when things are as good as they should be? And maybe even better?

UFC 300 was billed as the greatest night of fighting in combat sports history. An absurd promise, of course. Pure runaway advertising. Then the leather started flying here at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, and by the time it all stopped and I had a chance to catch my breath, I had to admit that this was, in fact, the greatest night of professional fighting I had ever seen.

Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise. You put together a lineup of 13 current or former champions, you’re supposed to end up with something good. But this was better than good. This was special.

A big part of that credit goes to Max Holloway. He’s been angry for weeks about people saying he made a mistake by moving up in weight for the BMF title fight with Justin Gaethje. Didn’t he remember what happened the last time he fought at 155 (a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 236)? Wouldn’t he be better off staying home at featherweight and pleading his case for a shot at new champion Ilia Topuria?

But what he wanted, Holloway insisted, was to become a legend of this sport. And how can you be a legend if you don’t take big risks to do legendary things?

Just in case you thought he was just talking, there was Holloway, in the final 10 seconds of the final round of a fight looking clearly on his way to victory, and he not only agreed, but practically demanded that Gaethje join him in the center of the cage for one last fight. Risky, to say the least. It was essentially the only chance Gaethje had left, and Holloway gave it to him. Winning the fight would have been enough. Risking losing it that way seemed almost insane.

Then Holloway landed that clean right hand while standing in the eye of the hurricane. Then Gaethje crumpled to the ground, the fight ending with another left. Then the roar of the crowd that nearly blew a hole in the roof of the building confirmed that Holloway had indeed just become a legend of the sport.

It was one of the best, most dramatic finishes ever seen in an MMA fight. And there would be two more fights to come.

The UFC wanted to create a centennial event that would top the two that came before it. While it didn’t produce any blockbuster names for the main event, it could rely on the depth of its roster to deliver the magic throughout. Being able to throw in someone like Holloway as an undercard feature? That’s a luxury most fight promoters don’t have, and a gift that fight fans may just deserve.

A few more notes about UFC 300…

• Alex Pereira told Jamahal Hill that he would make him remember the moment he ridiculed the champion for his choice of pre-fight props. As Pereira stood over the fallen Hill following the first-round knockout victory in the main event, he repeatedly pointed at the man as if to say: That moment I said would come? This is it.

• In a sport filled with professional tough guys, Pereira somehow manages to be a whole new level of scary. His facial expression never changes, but he exudes a constant intensity. After successfully defending his 205-pound belt, he now says he wants to try his hand at heavyweight. I guess when you’ve already won UFC titles in two divisions, it’s only natural to think, hey, why not a third? Whoever he’s welcoming into that weight class better not be someone who scares easily.

• What if Pereira opts to stay in light heavyweight? Jiří Procházka certainly made a strong case for a rematch with his TKO win over Aleksandar Rakić on the undercard. After being steadily picked apart for most of the contest, Prochazka landed a clean right hand to turn the tide, then swarmed for the finish. It was a quick turnaround in a fight that seemed clearly a losing proposition. For everyone but him, that is.

• One of Procházka’s great strengths (but also his weakness) is that he fights like it never occurred to him that he could get hurt. It makes him seem like he’s not that interested in protecting his face, but it also prevents him from losing his confidence when things don’t go his way. That’s a dangerous person, even when he loses. Pereira may have beaten him once, but that doesn’t mean anyone should write him off in a potential rematch.

• Zhang Weili had a tougher time than many expected in her UFC strawweight title defense against Yan Xiaonan, but she got it done in the end. It required her to go to the line of victory twice before ultimately taking it by decision. It also required her to rely heavily on her wrestling, which was a work in progress. It paid off tonight against a very tough challenger who wasn’t going away anytime soon. It also makes Weili an even tougher puzzle for anyone to solve.

• With the arrival of Kayla Harrison, business in the women’s bantamweight division is set to pick up again. The weight class has been in a bit of a slump since the retirement of longtime champion Amanda Nunes. But the way Harrison showed up to defeat former champion Holly Holm in her UFC debut, there seems to be a new reason to be excited about the division. If Harrison can make the weight consistently, she’ll be a major problem for every other 135-pounder. And judging from her reaction at home on fight nightEven Nunes is starting to take renewed interest in the division now that Harrison is here.