Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler was set to headline UFC 303 this weekend, before the former withdrew with a broken toe injury earlier this month. Two-division champion Alex Pereira has again stepped into the breach to save the card and is aware time isn’t on his side, another motivating factor for his refreshing activity as he prepares for a short-notice Jiri Prochazka rematch.
Pereira: I like these opportunities, good to keep active
Alex Pereira (c) vs. Jiri Prochazka 2 for UFC light-heavyweight title
UFC 303 main event this weekend, main card starts at 3am BST on Sunday
Bout represents the Brazilian’s ninth Octagon walk in two years, seven months
ALEX Pereira had lingering injuries heading into another short-notice bout, headlining a momentous UFC 300 card in mid-April with a fantastic first-round KO win over Jamahal Hill, but that didn’t stop him wanting to fight again relatively soon afterwards – the promotion’s Rio pay-per-view card some three weeks later.
Since losing to Israel Adesanya at UFC 287…
June 24: Will rematch Prochazka on short-notice in headliner after Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler main event again shelved
April 2024: Made the first defence of his 205lb strap against another former titleholder in Jamahal Hill on short-notice, scoring R1 KO
November 23: R2 TKO (elbows) win over former light-heavyweight titlist Jiri Prochazka to headline UFC 295, four months afterwards
July 2023: SD3 win vs. former light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz on his 205lb debut, three months later
Poatan again steps in to save the day again this coming weekend when he makes the second defence of his 205lb title against former champion Jiri Prochazka once more, some seven months after stopping him in round two to claim a then-vacant strap.
Pereira made history that November night in New York but at the time, noise centered around a debatable referee stoppage by Marc Goddard. The Czech admitted he was out [unconscious] during his post-fight interview and it was the right decision, though the warrior within wouldn’t allow him to lose without a fight.
Unsurprisingly in the months that have followed, he’s changed tune somewhat and drawn comparisons between his fight and the Jamahal Hill one – two different situations – to illustrate the belief he should’ve been given more recovery time.
The 31-year-old returned with a second-round TKO win over Aleksandar Rakic on the featured prelim of that aforementioned UFC 300 bill, so naturally wanted to run it back against the champ. He gets his chance, albeit a bit sooner than many expected.
During an interview with The MacLife through an interpreter, Pereira acknowledged time isn’t on his side and is a main motivator for high activity levels.
“I like taking these opportunities, going to be 37, don’t know how much longer I’m going to be fighting. It’s good for me to keep myself active, training. I’m always training so you’ve just got to take them whenever they come.
We didn’t expect it [the Prochazka rematch] to be this soon but were already expecting to fight each other, so we’re almost around the same timing. I don’t think he would have changed that much – if there’s one thing I could maybe change, it’s my takedown defence.”
UFC 303 card, is as follows
Main card
Light-heavyweight: Alex Pereira (c) vs. Jiri Prochazka [1]
Featherweight: Brian Ortega [3] vs. Diego Lopes [14]
Light-heavy: Anthony Smith [10] vs. Roman Dolidze [10, MW]
Women’s Bantamweight: Mayra Bueno Silva [3] vs. Macy Chiasson [7]
Welterweight: Ian Machado Garry [7] vs. Michael Page [14]
Prelims
Middleweight: Joe Pyfer vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
Featherweight: Cub Swanson vs. Andre Fili
Featherweight: Charles Jourdain vs. Jean Silva
Bantamweight: Payton Talbott vs. Yanis Ghemmouri
Early prelims
Women’s Strawweight: Michelle Waterson-Gomez [14] vs. Gillian Robertson [15]
Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski vs. Martin Buday
Flyweight: Rei Tsuruya vs. Carlos Hernandez
Bantamweight: Ricky Simon vs. Vinicius Oliveira
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes hyperlinked
Mo and Sports 