UFC 303 goes down at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. In the main event, UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is a -135 favorite in his rematch with former champ Jiri Prochazka, a +120 underdog.
These two last fought a little less than a year ago, with Pereira (10-2) winning the vacant title via second-round TKO. Prochazka briefly held the 205-pound belt after beating Pereira’s longtime coach, Glover Teixeira, via fifth-round submission in 2022. A subsequent shoulder injury forced him to vacate the title, and the initial meeting with Pereira was his first fight back from injury.
Since that bout, Pereira defended his title with a first-round knockout victory over former champ Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 in April. Prochazka fought on the undercard of that event, knocking out Aleksandar Rakic in the second round after losing the first round on all three judges’ scorecards.
As a fighter who transitioned to MMA after a lengthy career in kickboxing, the striking game is still Pereira’s greatest strength. His powerful left hook has proven difficult for opponents to defend against, and it was largely responsible for his knockout win over Hill. Prochazka doesn’t have much of a reputation as a wrestler, though he has pulled off a couple of surprise submissions over the course of his career. Both men took this fight on relatively short notice, stepping into the headlining spot as replacements after Conor McGregor withdrew from his planned main event bout against Michael Chandler due to a broken toe.
In the UFC 303 co-main event, Diego Lopes comes in as a -140 favorite versus former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega, who’s a +123 underdog in the 145-pound fight. Despite Ortega’s clear edge in big fight experience after two cracks at the UFC featherweight title, oddsmakers like Lopes’ chances coming off a three-fight winning streak with finishes in the first round each time.
Ortega is normally known for his jujitsu game, but Lopes owes half his wins to submission victories. He’s insisted that he can beat Ortega even in a fight contested primarily on the mat, while Ortega has won just three of his 16 victories via strikes.
Full UFC 303 fight card
Alex Pereira | Jiri Prochazka |
Brian Ortega | Diego Lopes |
Anthony Smith | Roman Dolidze |
Ian Garry | Michael Page |
Payton Talbott | Yannis Ghemmouri |
Cub Swanson | Andre Fili |
Mayra Bueno Silva | Macy Chiasson |
Joe Pyfer | Marc-Andre Barriault |
Michelle Waterson-Gomez | Gillian Robertson |
Andrei Arlovski | Martin Buday |
Ricky Simon | Vinicius Oliveira |
Carlos Hernandez | Rei Tsuruya |
How to watch UFC 303
- Early prelims: 6 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN/ESPN+
- Prelims: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+
- Main card: 10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ pay-per-view