A light heavyweight title rematch now headlines UFC International Fight Week
• 2 min read
Until just over two weeks from the event, the selling point of UFC 303 was “Conor McGregor is back.” That all changed when weeks of speculation over a potential McGregor withdrawal was confirmed with the UFC announcing the Irish superstar was off the International Fight Week card. The UFC rebounded from the situation by scheduling a light heavyweight championship rematch between champ Alex Pereira and the man he defeated to win the belt, Jiri Prochazka.
Prochazka won the title at UFC 275, winning an outstanding fight against Pereira’s friend and MMA mentor Glover Teixeira but was forced to vacate the title due to injury before defending it even once. Prochazka’s comeback fight was with Pereira for the vacant title, which Pereira won by TKO in the second round.
In addition to being the current light heavyweight champion, Pereira is also a former middleweight champion and has achieved all of that in just 12 professional MMA fights.
Another former light heavyweight champion was also scheduled to be on the card, with Jamahal Hill taking on Carlos Ulberg. Hill was forced off the card due to injury — announced at the same time as the McGregor injury — and Ulberg moved down the card where he’ll face former title challenger Anthony Smith. Then, Ulberg was forced to withdraw from the card, leaving Smith in need of a new opponent. Smith will now take on Roman Dolidze in a featured bout.
The new co-main event sees Brian Ortega take on Diego Lopes in a featherweight clash. Plus, another featured bout sees rising contenders at welterweight clash when Ian Machado Garry takes on Michael “Venom” Page.
Below is the complete fight card for UFC 303 along with the latest odds. Check back all week for the latest news, features and other content around this massive event.
UFC 303 fight card, odds
- Alex Pereira (c) -160 vs. Jiri Prochazka +135, light heavyweight title
- Diego Lopes -140 vs. Brian Ortega +120, featherweights
- Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze, light heavyweights
- Macy Chiasson -115 vs. Mayra Bueno Silva -105, women’s bantamweights
- Ian Machado Garry -130 vs. Michael Page +110, welterweights
- Joe Pyfer -280 vs. Marc-Andre Barriault +230, middleweights
- Andre Fili -250 vs. Cub Swanson +205. featherweights
- Charles Jourdain -125 vs. Jean Silva +105, featherweights
- Gillian Robertson -170 vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez +145, women’s strawweights
- Payton Talbott -1600 vs. Yanis Ghemmouri +800, bantamweights
- Martin Buday -250 vs. Andrei Arlovski +205, heavyweights
- Rei Tsuruya -500 vs. Carlos Hernandez +380, flyweights
- Ricky Simon -225 vs. Vinicius Olivera +185, bantamweights
UFC 303 info
- Date: June 29
- Location: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas
- Start time: 10 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: ESPN+ PPV
UFC 303 countdown
- Campbell: White and Co. owe fans an explanation over McGregor situation
- Pereira vs. Prochazka 2 set as new main event for International Fight Week
- McGregor injured, out of main event against Chandler
