"Sounds like a full blown warzone" - Fans raise concern for UFC 301 as Brazilian police launch major operation in Rio de Janeiro

Just one week before UFC 301, the Brazilian police reportedly launched a "major operation" within the country, making fans concerned about the event's host city.

According to reports, the law enforcement operation targeted an unnamed organized crime group in Rio de Janeiro. UFC employee RJ Clifford expressed his concern for the situation on X, prompting fans to chime in with their opinions.

Clifford's quote-tweet post showed a video from a Brazilian citizen capturing smoke rising into the air from an assumed attack. No news sites released any information on the organized crime group other than identifying it as "one of the largest" in the area.

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One fan called the scene a "war zone," responding with:

"Sounds like a full-blown warzone and dude is just chillin' on his metal roof watching like it's the New Year's fireworks lol"

Despite some fans' concerns, many citizens of Brazil pointed out that such activity is considered normal in the area and not problematic. Others also noted that the area filmed in the video was not close to the Farmasi Arena, where UFC 301 is scheduled to occur.

Other fans commented:

"Dang those bonuses better be good"

"Ask Anderson [Silva] to get you a gun"

"Not even anywhere close to where the UFC is being held lol just a post for bait engagement?"

"Pack your helmet and flak jacket"

View more fan reactions to the Brazilian police operation below:

Fans reacting to the Brazilian police operation targeting organized crime [via @rjcliffordmma on X]

UFC 301 full fight card

In his second title defense, UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will headline UFC 301 in his home country against the current No.10-ranked contender, Steve Erceg.

The card is full of Brazilian fighters looking to climb the rankings in front of their home crowd. As it currently stands, the event will have 14 fights, including a five-fight pay-per-view.

Main card (10 p.m. ET / 11 p.m. Brasilia Time)

Jonathan Martinez vs. Jose Aldo

Anthony Smith vs. Vitor Petrino

Michel Pereira vs. Ihor Potieria

Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho

Preliminary card (8 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. Brasilia Time)

Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore

Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo

Elves Brenner vs. Myktybek Orolbai

Jean Silva vs. William Gomis

Early preliminary card (6 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. Brasilia Time)

Drakkar Klose vs. Joaquim Silva

Mauricio Ruffy vs. Jamie Mullarkey

Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite

Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel

Alessandro Costa vs. Kevin Borjas

About the author

Jaren covers MMA and boxing for Sportskeeda. He has a total experience of over a year and also writes for FanSided MMA and BetSided.

Jaren is a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Media with high distinction from Butler University in 2023 and chose a field that interests him the most to begin his professional journey. He has over four years of experience practicing boxing and kickboxing and is also a two-stripe Brazilian jiu-jitsu white belt.

His all-time top-five list of MMA fighters includes Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and Amanda Nunes.

Jaren's first memory of becoming a fan of the sport dates back to the UFC 195 event in January 2016, which was headlined by the Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit title fight. While compiling pieces, he focuses on quality and fact-checking by going through multiple credible sources, such as UFC, Sherdog, and ESPN.

His other interests include training in jiu-jitsu and kickboxing, and watching basketball and American football.

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Edited by C. Nayak