UFC 303: Alex Pereira knocks out Jiri Prochazka, eyes historic third title

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Saturday, June 29, 2024 | 6:55 p.m.

Updated Saturday, June 29, 2024 | 11 p.m.

Note: Scroll to the bottom of the page for full results from the preliminary card.

The second fight between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka ended with the same result as the first.

Pereira scored a second-round knockout over Prochazka, this time with a leg kick that put out the already-wobbly challenger even before referee Herb Dean could jump in to stop ensuing ground-and-pound. The official stoppage was announced as a TKO 13 seconds into the second round of the UFC 303 main event.  

 The 36-year-old Brazilian kickboxer has now defended the light heavyweight title he initially won by beating Prochazka in back-to-back main-event bouts at T-Mobile Arena.

And both came at two of the biggest events of the year — April’s landmark UFC 300 and Saturday’s capper of International Fight Week — to unquestionably catapult the relative newcomer into one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts.

Pereira debuted in the octagon less than three years ago but has gone 8-1 and captured titles in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. And now he has his eyes on becoming the first fighter in UFC history to win a third title.  

“I think the fans have a lot of say in this,” Pereira said through a translator while still in the octagon. “At the end, they are paying for this, so if that’s what they want, it’s inevitable.”

The sold-out venue on the Strip erupted in applause.

Seeing Pereira move to heavyweight, whether it be for a fight against champion Jon Jones or interim champion Tom Aspinall, is exactly what they signaled as wanting.

“I think that’s in my future,” Pereira said. “I said that the last time I was here. I didn’t see too much interest from the organization, but I’m here now.”

Pereira is here in a big way; he owns the UFC at the moment. He took Saturday’s fight against Prochazka on just more than two weeks notice with many wondering if he had enough time to recover from injuries suffered before and during his UFC 300 victory over Jamahal Hill.

Betting lines crashed to a near pick’em before the beginning of Pereira vs. Prochazka, but the late money was misguided. Pereira’s electric striking style shined through from the start, as his power affected Prochazka and his technique kept him at bay.

Pereira dropped Prochazka with a punch at the horn of the first round, and then finished the job to start the second.

“I didn’t know how I was going to win but I knew I was going to come in here and leave this octagon happy,” he said.

Pereira’s victory sent UFC 303 off in grand fashion, but the rest of the main card didn’t quite live up to expectations. A co-main event fraught with changes throughout the last few months had one last major surprise when Brian Ortega pulled out with a sickness that  reportedly included a 103-degrees fever.

Local fighter Dan Ige filled in for Ortega on three hours’ notice.

“I was literally getting a massage when I got a call from (UFC executive) Hunter (Campbell) to say, ‘Hey, you want to fight tonight?” Ige said in the octagon.

He gladly obliged and put on a spirited performance that drew a standing ovation from the crowd but never truly threatened Diego Lopes, who benefitted from a full training camp.

Ige rallied to dominantly win the third round, but Lopes still escaped with a unanimous-decision victory where he took the first and second rounds on every judges’ scorecard.

“Whoever whenever however, it doesn't matter,” Lopes said. “I’ll fight anybody.”

Undefeated welterweight prospect Ian Garry stayed perfect to start the main card but was somewhat unconvincing in a unanimous-decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Michael “Venom” Page. Garry guaranteed he would become a champion in his post-fight interview, but was mostly booed.

The next fight was a bit more exciting, though perhaps not for those who are squeamish. Macy Chiasson overcame a rough first round to defeat Mayra Bueno Silva via TKO in the second round when doctors ruled the latter unable to continue from a cut above her eye.  

Chiasson cut Silva open with a ground-and-pound elbow.

Ige’s teammate, Roman Dolidze, made sure the local Xtreme Couture gym didn’t go home empty-handed as he defeated Anthony Smith by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a light heavyweight bout.

Dolidze hurt Smith in the second round but seemed content to ride out a decision victory and wasn’t as aggressive in the third.

Aggression is never an issue with Pereira, whom UFC President Dana White said was already asking for another fight after knocking out Prochazka.

In a short amount of time, he’s become a legend of the octagon.  

“I don’t know what the next step is,” Pereira said. “Sometimes you plan things and don’t see what is going to happen. I’m going to take whatever comes my way.”

Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka

Second Round Pereira picks up right where he left off, and clocks Prochazka with a kick to the head. Prochazka crumbles to the mat, Pereira follows with ground-and-pound. The official jumps in Alex Periera defends his light heavyweight title for the second straight time at T-Mobile Arena with a TKO victory. Official result: Alex Pereira defeats Jiri Prochazka by TKO 13 seconds into the second round. 

First Round After they stared at each other motionless for several minutes while being introduced, the two best light heavyweights immediately got after it. Prochazka landed first and affected Pereira. The latter then returned the favor. Tactical battle early with neither giving the other much through 90 seconds. Prochazka might be outlanding through two minutes, but Pereira’s power is shining through. Big kick to the body from Pereira around the midway point. Pereira rocks Prochazka. Prochazka answers with a slightly less powerful hook. They clinch up against the cage. Prochazka takes some knees but he’s the one pressuring. Damage is definitely in Pereira’s favor, though. They break out and Pereira lands a few more strikes before dropping Prochazka with a left hook at the horn. Crowd gaps, Prochazka is dazed and goes to the wrong corner but the fight should continue. 10-9 Periera.

Dan Ige vs. Diego Lopes

Third Round Lopes is outlanding Ige, but shoots for a takedown anyway about a minute-and-a-half in. He can’t take Ige to the mat but does eat a few elbows to the side of the head as punishment for shooting. Ige lets him up and smashes Lopes with back-to-back combinations. Lopes might be in a little trouble. He shoots for a desperate takedown. Ige stays up. Lopes winds up on his back, and Lopes is taking some vicious ground-and-pound. Lopes needs to hold for about 90 seconds to win. He’s taking some damage but defending just well enough to avoid real trouble. Ige is blasting Lopes with his left hand in the final seconds. A spirited effort from a fighter who took the bout on the shortest notice in UFC history. Ige 10-9 in the third round, 29-28 Lopes overall on the Sun’s scorecard. Official decision: Diego Lopes defeats Dan Ige by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). 

Second Round Ige lands a couple leg kicks, Lopes goes to the body. Not a fair trade for the former. But he’s performing admirably given the circumstances. Ige tries a kick to the head, but Lopes catches it and dumps him. Lopes gets on Ige’s back and works for a rear-naked choke. He’s got a good shot at it with about three minutes remaining in the frame. But Ige is hand-fighting and keeping his chin down. Lopes won’t go away though. Lopes blasts Ige with punches from behind. Ige grimaces and throws a few of his own to draw a cheer from the crowd. Lopes tries for a late submission but there’s nothing there. 10-9 Lopes, 20-18 Lopes overall.

First Round Ige lands the first few jabs, not bad for someone who took the fight on a few hours’ notice when Ortega came down with a 103 degrees fever and was ruled unfit to compete. They meet in the center for an exchange about a minute in, and that one goes Lopes’ way. Ige retreats. Action dials down from there until about 50 seconds remain when Ige engages. Lopes is defensively strong though and lands a couple uppercuts in close range. Ige shoots for a takedown but Lopes sprawls. In the scramble, he gets hold of Ige’s neck. Ige survives the choke, and both fighters get a standing ovation at the end of the round. 10-9 Lopes.

Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze

Third Round Pace has slowed considerably. Smith is gasping for breath, and Dolidze isn’t doing much other than kicking every now and then. That might be enough though. He seems content to ride out a decision win midway through. Pressure is on Smith to make something happen. Nothing is with two minutes to fight. A sloppy exchange falls in favor of Dolidze. Chatter is spreading across the arena. The crowd seems to have lost interest. Smith engages with just more than a minute to go, and Dolidze counters. Smith breathes heavy but presses forward. The crowd is back into it — just so they can boo. Dolidze lands a spin kick to the body. 10-9 Dolidze, 30-26 Dolidze overall on the Sun’s scorecard. The official decision: Dolidze defeats Smith by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

Second Round They finally uncork about a minute in, and it does not go well for Smith. He initially connects but then Dolidze clocks him. Smith is turtled on his back taking big punishment. He defends enough to where Dolidze abandons the plan and turns to grappling. Dolidze has Smith’s back. But Smith isn’t letting him sink in hooks too easily. Dolidze stays heavy to prevent Smith from standing up. Smith is still in trouble midway through with Dolidze going back to punches standing over his opponent from behind. Back to submission-hunting, though Smith is in it enough to not give Dolidze anything easily. Smith gets closer to standing up but eats a knee to the ribs for it. Smith gets up with 30 seconds to go and attacks. Dolidze stays poised. Horn saves Smith. 10-8 Dolidze in the second round, 20-17 overall for Dolidze.

First Round They trade leg kicks early. Not much else going over the first 90 seconds. Dolidze’s leg kicks have been a bit harder, for what it’s worth. He’s engaging more too. Dolidze lands a couple on an exchange and defends well. Smith is throwing some bombs but they aren’t connecting. Dolidze isn’t doing much more, but he’s had a few hands graze Smith. The leg kick parade continues. Dolidze’s slight edge on punches continues. 10-9 Dolidze in the first round.

Macy Chiasson vs. Mayra Bueno Silva

Second Round They waste no time swinging away with both women having their moments before Chiasson shoots and takes down Silva with ease. She’s busy to start in Silva’s guard too with a massive elbow that opens a cut on Silva’s eye. Silva gets a hold of Chiasson’s arm and works towards a kimura. Chiasson is calm and escapes. Chiasson gets up and starts kicking away at the grounded Silva. She eventually lets Silva up, and the doctors are called in to check on her cut. They wave off the fight despite chanted pleas of the crowd to, “let her fight.” Macy Chiasson defeats Mayra Bueno Silva via second-round injury TKO. The official time of the stoppage was 1:50.

First Round Silva lands a couple early jabs and kicks. Chiasson clinches up and gets some points back with dirty boxing. Spin kick from Silva makes the crowd go from silent to gasping. They clinch again, and Silva is punishing the body with both punches and kicks. Wrestling ensues but Silva is still landing knees. They break out and Chiasson has some moments. But she’s in a hole now. Big exchange goes Silva’s way and she follows by pushing Chiasson into the fence. 10-9 Silva in the first round.

Ian Garry vs. Michael Page

Third Round Slow start, pretty even on the feet before Garry drags Page down and the latter surprisingly follows. Garry looks content to work from his guard for about 90 seconds before Page ditches top pressure for a stand-up. The final half of the final round could determine this fight. Garry takes Page’s back at just under the two-minute mark, and that could be it if the striker can’t escape. Garry attempts another choke, but Page looks safe. He's not going to win in this position, though, as the clock hits a minute remaining. The same position holds until the end. Ian Garry wins 29-27 overall on the Sun’s scorecard. The official decision: Ian Garry defeats Michael Page by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). 

Second Round  Page comes out bouncing around and slugs Garry with a left hand. He’s keeping his distance and landing just enough volume through the first 90 seconds to have a small lead this round. Then Garry finally counters a kick with a straight left. Page gets over-aggressive coming in, and Garry locks him up in the clinch against the cage. Crowd boos. Garry works his knees. Garry pulls guard as the crowd gets restless and attempts a heel hook. Page shoos off the first try, but Garry’s persistence works and he gets him to the mat — for a bit. Page gets up with around a minute remaining, and lands a kick to the body. Page lands a flying knee with some follow-up punches that may have won him the round. 10-9 Page, 19-18 Garry overall.

First Round Slow first minute of the feet turns out successful for Garry, who catches a Page kick and deposits him on the ground. Garry pressures Page and constricts around his back. Page is in trouble as Garry turns a body triangle into a rear-naked choke attempt. Page gets Garry’s arms out from around his chin, much to the delight of a crowd chanting “M-V-P” for Michael “Venom” Page. Garry pounds away from Page’s back as the horn sounds. 10-8 Garry.

The last major fight card held locally, UFC 300 in April, went down as one of the best in the history of T-Mobile Arena.

Tonight’s UFC 303 could be even better.

The pay-per-view main card, which begins at 7 p.m., might be a little short on starpower after an injury to Conor McGregor but it makes up for it via what should be an action-packed slate of bouts.

Three of the four headliners, in fact, contributed to making UFC 300 so memorable. Mexican featherweight Diego Lopes rose his profile that night with a first-round knockout of Sodiq Yusuff.

As a reward, he was set to get the biggest fight of his life in the UFC 303 co-main event — a showdown with fellow jiu-jitsu specialist, two-time featherweight top contender Brian Ortega.

But Ortega struggled with his weight cut all week and fell ill today, leading to a last-minute replacement stepping up in the locally-based Dan Ige.

Lopes vs. Ige would typically be a clear favorite for Fight of the Night, but the light heavyweight championship main event between champion Alex Pereira and top contender Jiri Prochazka probably deserves that distinction tonight.

Pereira and Prochazka both had vicious knockouts at UFC 300 — over Jamahl Hill and Aleksandar Rakic, respectively — to set up a rematch between the two. The fight was booked on just over two weeks’ notice after McGregor broke his toe and follows a UFC 295 meeting last November where Pereira knocked out Prochazka.

The next biggest fight kicks off the main card as undefeated welterweight prospect Ian Garry takes on longtime mixed martial arts striker standout Michael “Venom” Page.

Like the two headlining bouts, the betting odds are tight and suggest an evenly-matched pairing.

The same is true for the two fights that sandwich the headliners and Garry vs. Page — a women’s bantamweight bout between Mary Bueno Silva and Macy Chiasson and a light heavyweight clash between Anthony Smith and Roman Dolidze.

The UFC is on a roll right now, and it should continue with tonight’s pay-per-view.

Follow along for live updates from the main card here and find full results from the preliminary card below.

Middleweight slugger Joe Pyfer finished off a stretch of three knockouts in the final four preliminary fights against Marc-Andre Barriault, and his rivaled Payton Talbott's as the best. Pyfer stopped Barriault with a combination 1:25 into the first round. 

Andre Fili edged Cub Swanson in a featherweight bout with a split-decision verdict (29-28, 29-28, 28-29). Swanson landed the biggest shots, but Fili affected Swanson more consistently and was more in control. 

Brazilian featherweight Jean Silva built on his recent breakout, knocking out Charles Jourdain at 1:22 of the second round with a series of strikes that started with elbows to the body and concluded with an uppercut to the chin. The bout was contested at a 147.5-pound catchweight after Silva missed weight, a mistake he apologized for in his post-fight interview. 

Payton Talbott lived up to the considerable hype coming his way — and then some. Talbott knocked out Yanis Ghemmouri with a single punch 19 seconds into their bantamweight bout. "It feels like all my dreams are coming true, and it's in my hands now," Talbott said afterwards in the octagon. "I've just got to keep at it."

Gillian Robertson dominated Michelle Waterson-Gomez in a women's strawweight bout, earning a unanimous-decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-26). Waterson-Gomez, known as "The Karate Hottie", announced her retirement after the fight with the UFC showing a video highlight package of her career as she wiped away tears in the octagon. 

A dull heavyweight fight saw the judges side with  Martin Buday over Andrei Arlovski, as the former earned a split-decision victory (30-27, 29-28, 28-29). Arlovski seemed to come on late and clearly win the third round, but one judge didn’t see it that way.

Flyweight prospect Rei Tsuruya stayed undefeated with a unanimous-decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Carlos Hernandez. The fight was spent almost entirely into the ground and turned into a grappling match where Tsuruya threatened to finish Hernandez a few times early but gassed and wasn’t the same in the third round.

Brazilian bantamweight Vinicius Oliveira won a second straight fight since getting into the UFC, putting on a striking exhibition against Ricky Simon to claim a unanimous-deicsion nod (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). Mark the 28-year-old Oliveira as someone to watch going forward.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or