UFC 303 Results: Bonus Winners And Highlights

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 UFC 303 Results: Bonus Winners And Highlights




Alex Pereira is a one-of-a-kind superstar, and if you love mixed martial arts, you better enjoy and cherish every time you get an opportunity to see him fight.


The UFC Light Heavyweight champion notched another successful title defense on his record with a spectacular second-round head-kick TKO win over Jiri Prochazka.


The win was Pereira’s second KO over Prochazka, as he also stopped him in the second round of their first meeting in November 2023 at UFC 295.


Saturday night’s win was more brutal. Pereira floored Prochazka with his signature left hook at the bell to close the first round. If he had more time to finish, the champion likely would have gotten the finish a round earlier.


As it was, it only took the Brazilian 18 seconds into the second frame to finish the job.


Pereira improved his record to 11-2, and Prochazka dropped to 30-5-1, though his only losses in the UFC have come to Pereira. The champion earned one of four performance bonuses for his work.


Before looking at anything that happened in the co-main event, both men (in my Ludwig Kaiser voice) deserve all your gratitude. Both went through a ton to make the co-main event happen.



Lopes' flurries and grappling earned him the first two rounds. He got tired in the third round, and Ige had some excellent moments in the last frame. Lopes held on and was awarded the fight, but the bigger story was the road to this unlikely fight.


The co-main event was originally supposed to be Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree. The latter tested positive for a banned substance and was removed from the card.


Anthony Smith replaced Rountree on the card, but Hill had to pull out with knee injuries. With Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler pulled from the card, Carlos Ulberg replaced Hill.


The latter fell off and was replaced by Roman Dolidze. Smith vs. Dolidze was demoted out of the co-main event and replaced by Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega at featherweight.


Earlier in the week, Ortega said he couldn't make 145 pounds and moved to fight changed to 155 pounds. Lopes accepted. Unfortunately, about two hours before the event began, Ortega was reported as ill and was ruled medically unfit to compete.


On just four hours' notice, Ige stepped in to fight Lopes, but the fight had to be contested at 165 pounds. Lopes again accepted the challenge.


Both men proved they are warriors, and I'm hopeful the UFC took good care of them for enduring so much to keep the main card from falling apart even more.


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