The long, winding road to close International Fight Week is over. Its crown jewel event, UFC 303, wrapped up on Saturday night with an extra level of wild that nobody saw coming.
The main event saw Alex Pereira continue to flex his muscles as the best 205-pound fighter in the sport with another destructive knockout of Jiri Prochazka inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was the second time in seven months that Pereira has battered Prochazka as "Poatan" adds even more finishes to his growing resume as both middleweight and light heavyweight champion. He may even have his eyes on moving up to heavyweight later this year.
The biggest news to happen on Saturday, though, came in the co-main event where Diego Lopes was scheduled to face Brian Ortega. Unfortunately, Ortega suffered an illness and was forced to withdraw from the fight. Cue Dan Ige, who resides in Las Vegas and was training for a scheduled fight on July 20. Ige got the call just a few hours before the fight was set to go and was cleared by the athletic commission to make the fight with Lopes official. Lopes managed to take a unanimous decision over Ige, but it was just the final band aid on a card that saw more than six configurations to the main and co-main events in the last two weeks alone.
CBS Sports was with you throughout fight week with the latest news, in-depth features and betting advice to consider. Thanks for stopping by and we'll see you at UFC 304 in Manchester, England.
UFC 303 fight card, results
- Alex Pereira (c) def. Jiri Prochazka via second-round TKO (head kick, punches)
- Diego Lopes def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Roman Dolidze def. Anthony Smith via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Macy Chiasson def. Mayra Bueno Silva via second-round TKO (doctor's stoppage)
- Ian Machado Garry def. Michael Page via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Joe Pyfer def. Marc-Andre Barriault via first-round knockout (punch)
- Andre Fili def. Cub Swanson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Jean Silva def. Charles Jourdain via second-round knockout (punch)
- Payton Talbott def. Yanis Ghemmouri via first-round knockout (punches)
- Gillian Robertson def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Martin Buday def. Andrei Arlovski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Rei Tsuruya def. Carlos Hernandez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Vinicius Olivera def. Ricky Simon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
UFC 303 countdown
- Staff predictions and expert picks for the main card
- Brookhouse: Best bets to consider on the main card
- Campbell: How Pereira quickly became the face of UFC
- Mahjouri: Undercard fights to watch this weekend
- Campbell: Five biggest storylines to watch at International Fight Week
- Campbell: White and Co. owe fans an explanation over McGregor situation
- Pereira vs. Prochazka 2 set as new main event for International Fight Week
- McGregor injured, out of main event against Chandler