With Thursday’s news that Conor McGregor was forced out of the UFC 303 main event, the International Fight Week card was in need of a new, big main event. UFC president Dana White announced on Thursday night that the new main event would feature a rematch between light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and the former champion he defeated to win the belt, Jiri Prochazka.
The first meeting between the pair came at UFC 295, when Pereira scored a second-round stoppage of Prochazka. With the win, Pereira became the first fighter in UFC history to capture titles at both middleweight and light heavyweight. Pereira also achieved that feat in just his 11th professional bout.
Prochazka won the title with a thrilling UFC 275 win over Glover Teixeira that was one of the best fights of UFC’s modern era. After dropping the title to Pereira, Prochazka proved his place among the division’s elite with another incredible win, overcoming the early momentum of Aleksandar Rakic for a comeback stoppage win.
White also announced that the co-main event was scrapped after Jamahal Hill was forced out of his bout with Carlos Ulberg bout due to a knee injury.
In that fight’s place, former featherweight title contender Brian Ortega will take on Diego Lopes.
Lopes is a rising star for the promotion, with three consecutive stoppage finishes. All but two of Lopes’ 24 career victories have come by stoppage. Ortega climbed the rankings to challenge Max Holloway for the featherweight title in December 2018, losing by TKO due to a doctor’s stoppage. After rebounding with a win, Ortega lost to Alexander Volkanovski, again in a fight for the world title.
Ulberg also remains on the card, facing former light heavyweight world title challenger Anthony Smith in a 205-pound battle.
UFC 303 takes place June 29 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
