Alex Pereira has already bulked back up for his light heavyweight title rematch against Jiri Prochazka later tonight (Sat., June 29, 2024) at UFC 303 LIVE on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pereira, who will be defending his 205-pound crown for the second-straight time, is the betting favorite to take care of business and hand Prochazka another loss inside of the Octagon. Remember, the two first met back at UFC 295 in Nov. 2023. Prochazka was winning that fight until “Poatan” delivered a memorable second-round knockout.
While tonight’s title rematch came together on just two weeks notice both fighters seem more than prepared. After all, the two were expected to meet sometime this summer anyways. It just happened to go down sooner than planned, but on a bigger card during UFC’s International Fight Week.
Luckily, Pereira and Prochazka are true professionals and had no issues making weight for Friday’s official weigh ins (replay HERE). Since early Friday, Pereira has packed back on considerable weight. He posted the following to Instagram on Friday showing off a 25-pound gain and explaining how he had his best light heavyweight cut to date.
Alex Pereira gained more than 25 pounds since the UFC 303 weigh-ins, reaching 230.1 pounds by Friday night.
“Poatan” posted on Instagram that it was his best weight cut compared to his previous light heavyweight fights in the UFC. pic.twitter.com/kEyglZVIuB
— Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) June 29, 2024
It’s unknown at this time if this massive weight gain will play any factor in Pereira’s title defense against Prochazka, but it can’t hurt. Prochazka is a big, strong light heavyweight who attacks with a variety of techniques. Pereira may be the favorite entering UFC 303, but he still has much to prove when it comes to his overall MMA arsenal.
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LIVE! Watch UFC 303 PPV On ESPN+ Here!
’McGREGOR-FREE MAIN EVENT! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., June 29, 2024, without its biggest box office draw, Conor McGregor, after the Irish sports star delayed the “greatest comeback of all-time” because he broke his pinky toe (seriously). Coming the rescue once again is Light Heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, agreeing to rematch former division champion, Jiri Prochazka, in the pay-per-view (PPV) main event. In UFC 303’s co-headliner, top-ranked Featherweight contender, Brian Ortega, will attempt to halt the rise of red-hot surging 145-pound prospect, Diego Lopes. UFC 303’s PPV main card (see it here) will also feature Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze and Ian Garry vs. Michael “Venom” Page and so much more. It’s must-watch action! UFC 303 start time scheduled for 6 p.m. ET (Prelims) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV).
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 303 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 303 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 303: “Pereira vs. Prochazka 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 303 fight card and PPV lineup click here.
