Combat Sports Today: UFC Drops Conor McGregor Trailer, UFC 301, Canelo vs. Munguia Aftermath & More

(Image via Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports)

"Combat Sports Today" is back in your life as MMA Knockout's Zain Bando reviews the biggest headlines in MMA entering the first full week in May.

Without further ado, while sipping a morning coffee or planning out the week, here's what you might have missed in combat sports over the weekend.

As I reviewed last week ahead of the action, two major pay-per-views dominated the combat sports landscape Saturday night. In Brazil, there was UFC 301, which saw Alexandre Pantoja successfully defend his flyweight title against Steve Erceg by decision, José Aldo's triumphant return to MMA, Anthony Smith's upset against Vitor Petrino, and so much more.

But it was the main event that had everyone debating the scorecards. Some media members thought Erceg did enough to win 3-2, while others had Pantoja, thanks to securing several takedowns throughout the fight, as the rightful winner.

Despite the fight going Pantoja's way on all three scorecards, Erceg, who had won three straight fights since signing with the UFC last year, gave a brutally honest assessment of his performance when speaking to Daniel Cormier post-fight in the Octagon.

"I thought the third [round], I think it was the third was close enough," Erceg said. "Like, he got me down a couple times, but there was no real control. And I got up and beat him on the feet. I thought if I could win the last round at least, I got myself a chance, and I just blew it."

Erceg saying he "blew it" is a bit of a stretch, given that the fight was likely even going into the fifth round. Not to mention the fact that it was his 14th professional fight and he's still very green in MMA leads me to believe he is far from done chasing a world title and will be back sooner rather than later.

As for Pantoja, he proved that he is the best flyweight in the world and that he's here to stay at 125 pounds. Nevertheless, his next fight will be interesting, whether it's against Alex Perez, Amir Albazi or another contender, there are several directions he can look now that he has fully solidified himself as the man to beat in the lighter divisions.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena, arguably the bigger fight of the weekend took place inside the ring, which saw Saul "Canelo" Alvarez outlast Jaime Munguia to retain the WBC super middleweight title in a 12-round decision. While Munguia held his own, the previously unbeaten challenger was knocked down in Round 4, which could have wiped away the rest of his confidence.

Nevertheless, the fight lived up to the hype, as Alvarez reminded everyone why he's near the top of the men's pound-for-pound list for boxers. While the world wants to see how he fares against David Benavidez, Alvarez said he will only fight him "if the money is right."

What that exact figure is remains to be seen, and it may never be known, but given Alvarez's pedigree, it's hard to deny his request as being one he deserves.

Albeit brief, the UFC took a minute to casually drop a promo to get fans excited for Conor McGregor's return to the Octagon. MMAKO has covered his return extensively, and at press time, there are less than 60 days until the combat sports world touches down on Las Vegas to witness McGregor fight Michael Chandler, a fight over a year in the making.

The trailer can be reviewed below, which took place before Pantoja and Erceg made their walks to the Octagon.

For those thinking about going to Vegas for the fight, we reviewed those details more extensively when ticket prices were unveiled last week, now approaching thousands of dollars per ticket.

To wrap up the news cycle, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) unveiled Monday that the July Netflix heavyweight boxing spectacle between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will be a professional bout on both men's records, as eight, two-minute rounds will be the main part of the rule set.

Take that information how you will, but whether fans support the fight or not, it is going ahead as scheduled and two press tours in mid-May will begin the promotional experience surrounding the fight itself.

That's all for this week in combat sports, but the month of May is far from over. The Fury-Usyk heavyweight title match takes flight May 17, and there's back-to-back UFC Fight Night cards, plus the continuation of the Bellator Champions Series and the start of PFL Mena.

Regardless of your event of choice, MMAKO has you covered.

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