PARADISE, Nevada -- When UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and top contender Jiří Procházka step into the octagon Saturday, it will be the second time in seven months the two have fought.
The prelims will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, while the main card kicks off at 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
Pereira came out victorious in their previous matchup, winning by TKO after dropping Procházka to a knee and hitting him with a flurry of fists and elbows as he tried to return to his feet. That win also made Pereira the ninth two-division champion in UFC history.
That’s just one of six matchups featuring ranked contenders on a card that is loaded with potential. UFC 303 is setting up to be one of the UFC’s most memorable events of the year.
Here’s more details on how you can watch UFC 303:
- What: UFC 303: Alex Pereira vs. Jiří Procházka
- When: Saturday, June 29, 2024
- Time: Prelims at 8 p.m.; Main card at 10 p.m. All times are Eastern.
- Where: T-Mobile Arena | Paradise, Nev.
- Channel: ESPN+ Pay-per-view.
- Best Streaming Options: ESPN+ Pay-per-view.
Here is more background from the Associated Press on late replacements for UFC 303 after Connor McGregor pulled out with an injury:
LAS VEGAS (AP) — When Conor McGregor’s broken toe forced him to pull out of UFC 303, UFC President Dana White knew he didn’t have time to waste.
Promotional materials needed to be changed and a new marketing strategy created.
And he had to find a new headline fight.
Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira was on vacation in Australia and No. 1 challenger Jiri Prochazka on a three-day meditation retreat when his coach banged on the door about the fight opportunity. Now they will face each other Saturday in a rematch from less than a year ago.
Even without McGregor, White said he expected to break the gate record of $17.7 million for UFC 205 in November 2016 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
“We’re right on the cusp now of breaking the record,” White said. “This is the business. These things happen. Nobody’s better at replacing the fights than we are.”
Getting the late offer to headline this weekend’s card that is part of International Fight Week was quite a challenge to both contestants.
“Normally, I have two months for camp,” Prochazka said. “I put everything into 1 1/2 weeks.”
The short turnaround is not unfamiliar to Pereira, who often was given little time to prepare when he was racking up victories as a kickboxer before transitioning to mixed-martial arts in 2015.
“Kickboxing for me was a school, made me go through all and sometimes even worse scenarios that I’m fighting now Saturday,” the Brazilian champ said through an interpreter. “So I’m just going to focus on the fight.”
The bout is a rematch from Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden when Pereira won the championship with a technical knockout at 4:08 of the second round and earned the performance of the night bonus. That was his second title belt in just his seventh fight for the UFC.