After Conor McGregor was forced to withdraw from his highly anticipated return against Michael Chandler due to a broken toe, UFC 303 has got a brand new main event at the last minute.
Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will once again clash with number one contender Jiri Prochazka for the 205-pound title at the T-Mobile Arena, just months after their first bout ended with a controversial referee stoppage.
We'll take a look at the main event and provide you with our best free UFC picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while watching an incredible fight card.
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UFC 303 information
- Saturday, June 29th 2024
- T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, Las Vegas
- Light Heavyweight Championship (205 pounds)
- 5 x 5 minute rounds
- Main card start time: 22:00 ET
Jiri Prochazka vs Alex Pereira
An unbelievable fight is on the cards here between two of the best and most powerful strikers in the light heavyweight division.
Prochazka is currently on an incredible run of 14 wins in his last 15 fights, comprising of 13 finishes with 12 knockouts and one submission win to take his professional record to a mightily impressive 30-4-1.
His UFC debut saw him flatten former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir with a second-round knockout back at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi, before a stunning spinning back elbow knockout of another former challenger in Dominick Reyes asserted him as one of the most dangerous fighters in the division and earned him a title shot.
There he fought Glover Teixeira, who is now Pereira's coach, where a five-round war played out and saw fight of the year shouts before the Czech Republic samurai earned a rear-naked choke submission win with just 28 seconds remaining on the clock.
He was then scheduled to fight Teixeira in a rematch last December, but suffered a shoulder injury and relinquished the title instead. His return bout saw him fight Pereira for the championship and get knocked out in the second round with a premature stoppage, but he has since bounced back with a huge knockout win over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300.
Pereira on the other hand has been very active since making his UFC debut, arriving as a Glory Kickboxing two-weight world champion, with a professional MMA record that now stands at just 10-2.
Poatan's debut in the company saw him knockout Andreas Michailidis with a flying-knee at UFC 268, before he earned a very tough unanimous decision win over veteran Bruno Silva. That earned him a title eliminator bout with Sean Strickland, whom he demolished with a trademark left hook in the first round.
That gave him a title shot against long-time rival Israel Adesanya and despite being down on the scorecards, the Brazilian staged a stunning comeback in the fifth-round to knock out the long-reigning champion and shock the world to become the champion. In the rematch just five months later though he was less successful, as The Last Stylebender claimed his title back with a vicious second-round knockout.
The defeat sparked Pereira to move up a division to 205lbs, where he fought former champion Jan Blachowicz in his first outing and claimed a controversial split decision win to earn a title fight against Prochazka which he won via knockout to become a two-weight world champion.
He has since defended the championship once, knocking out another former champion in Jamahal Hill in the first round of the UFC 300 main event.
Route to victory
This is no doubt going to be a thrilling striking bout between two powerhouses, but with very different offensive styles.
Prochazka is a bit of a wild man, with a wide stance and an off-rhythm striking pattern that catches a lot of opponents off guard. He has tremendous power and is always more than willing to spin or throw strikes at unorthodox angles to land, while often leaving his chin quite exposed.
He also showed in the first fight however that he is willing to mix in takedowns and work ground and pound to stop Pereira's offense, and he may look to do much more of that this time around.
Pereira on the other hand is a world-class technician with elite technique and traditional kickboxing style. He likes to use his leg kicks to great effect and has a nasty left hook that can put anyone's lights out if it lands flush on the chin. He has a fantastic chance of winning this bout, because of his speed, accuracy and power.
There's no doubting that if Pereira wants to win he needs to use his low kicks and range management perfectly, while trying to force Prochazka to fight on his heels although this won't be easy. For Prochazka the best route to a victory is pressure.
In their first bout Prochazka's pressure caused Pereira a lot of problems and he landed well himself, but a lazy takedown attempt led to his demise. If he's a bit less reckless and measured, then he has every chance of causing an upset.
Check out our review for Bovada sports betting here.
UFC Picks: Alex Pereira gets it done again
While Prochazka has got every chance of success as one of the very best in the world, Pereira is in the conversation as the pound-for-pound best in the sport right now.
Having already felt each other in the octagon, Pereira will be better prepared for what to expect and will know that he has the power to end the fight with one punch. But he will also take a lot of joy from Prochazka's last performance against Rakic, where he got hit a lot before claiming the win.
With the fight being put together on just a few weeks' notice, it favors the Brazilian because he already has a win. There's solid value in him getting the victory again and cementing himself as a legend of the sport despite his short tenure in the organisation.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
