UFC 303: Alex Pereira rocks Jiří Procházka with head-kick KO to defend light heavyweight belt

Alex Pereira is beginning to seem like the UFC’s most unstoppable pressure, as Jiří Procházka can as soon as once more testify.

The UFC mild heavyweight champion defended his belt in opposition to the previous title-holder with a brutal leg kick to the top, getting the KO with a number of extra blows on the bottom and leaving Procházka barely acutely aware after the struggle was known as.

It was a repeat of the ending of the primary spherical, when Pereira leveled Procházka with a tough left with a very good second remaining. Had there been quite a lot of seconds left, the struggle would have been over then and there.

The 2 fighters entered the bout with some somewhat odd drama. In an interview the week of the struggle, Procházka claimed Pereira acquired an unfair benefit by means of “magic,” or somewhat the champion’s pre-fight rituals which contact on his indigenous heritage.

He requested Pereira not use such rituals, which Pereira emphatically declined. It was with that historical past the 2 males, each recognized for his or her private gravity, walked in and stared one another down for almost 5 minutes earlier than the struggle.

It’s now wanting like 2024 can be remembered as Pereira’s yr. He landed the principle occasion on the promotion’s stacked UFC 300 card and lived up-to-the-minute with a first-round knockout of Jamahal Hill, which might have been the second of the evening had it not been for Max Holloway going berserker.

In UFC 303, Pereira and Procházka stepped in on two-and-a-half weeks’ discover after Conor McGregor withdrew from the beforehand scheduled most important occasion in opposition to Michael Chandler as a result of a damaged pinky toe. Regardless of the result, Pereira would have acquired appreciation from UFC president Dana White. However to defend his belt in emphatic style in opposition to some of the harmful fighters within the division, that’s stuff that makes you a better form of champion.

The query now’s what’s subsequent for Pereira, who has taken over a beforehand chaotic division with wins over three former champs in Procházka, Hill and Jan Blachowicz. He may nonetheless face Magomad Ankalaev who has an excellent argument that he was robbed of the belt in a controversial draw with Blachowicz, however he additionally stated by means of an interpreter he intends to maneuver as much as heavyweight, with an opportunity at changing into the UFC’s first three-division champion.

The struggle ended some of the logistically chaotic playing cards in UFC historical past, wherein the co-main occasion needed to be reworked 4 completely different occasions. The results of that struggle was Diego Lopes defeating Dan Ige, who stepped in on 4 hours’ discover.

This is how each struggle performed out through Yahoo Sports activities:

Important card outcomes

Prelims outcomes

Early prelims outcomes