UFC 303 results, highlights: Alex Pereira delivers brutal headkick knockout to Jiri Prochazka, retains title

The legend of 'Poatan' continues to grow with another highlight-reel finish

After losing to Alex Pereira in their bout for the vacant light heavyweight championship at UFC 295, many felt Jiri Prochazka had been the victim of a quick stoppage. No such complaints will exist after the pair remained in the main event of Saturday's UFC 303 card from Las Vegas. Pereira again scored a second round TKO, though this time left no doubt as to the validity of the stoppage.

Pereira took the center of the Octagon to open the fight, throwing heavy kicks while Prochazka bounced and looked for openings to strike. A steady stream of Pereira leg kicks looked to take the bounce out of Prochazka's step.

Importantly for Prochazka, he successfully ate the first and second of Pereira's patented left hooks that landed clean without crumbling. Having done so allowed Prochazka to close distance, secure a body lock and present Pereira with at least the threat of a takedown.

History nearly repeated itself in the final second of the first round, with a Pereira left hook landing and dropping Prochazka directly to the canvas. Prochazka raised his legs, seemingly getting ready to attempt to claim guard should Pereira follow him to the canvas, but referee Herb Dean jumped in as the horn had sounded to end the round.

Things didn't improve for Prochazka as the second round got underway. A Pereira head kick landed moments after the round began, dropping Prochazka to the canvas. A flurry of follow up shots were all it took to bring the fight to a close as Dean jumped in to halt the bout.

Prochazka attempted to return to his feet after the stoppage but could not stand under his own power.

"It was great. I've been saying all week that I'd come out here and be victorious. I didn't know how I was going to win but I knew I would leave the Octagon happy.

"I think [moving to heavyweight is] in my future. I said that the last time I was here. There didn't seem to be too much interest from the organization but I'm here."

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 the entire way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from the UFC 303 below.

UFC 303 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)

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[Jun 30, 2024 at 12:54 am ET · Shakiel Mahjouri]

Official result: Alex Pereira def. Jiri Prochazka via second-round KO: Pereira opens the round with a switch head kick that immediately drops Prochazka! Pereira swarms the challenger with ground strikes. Referee Herb Dean calls a stop to the fight. Prochazka stands up but he's terribly wobbled. Multiple people had to hold up Prochazka. Wild!

[Jun 30, 2024 at 12:51 am ET · Shakiel Mahjouri]

Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka -- Round 1: Pereira opens with kicks to the legs and body. Prochazka switching between conventional and southpaw stances. Prochazka blitzes and lands a decent combination. Pereira continues to target the legs. A solid left hook lands for the champ. A stiff jab by Pereira. The challenger blitzes but gets hit with two hard counterpunches. Prochazka has his hands down by his waist. Pereira flows nicely between leg kicks, punches to the head and a hard body kick. Pereira catches Prochazka with a stiff left hook. Prochazka gets the clinch and pushes the champ against the fence. Pereira clubs punches to the body and digs a stiff knee to the torso. Prochazka didn't manage to do anything with the clinch. Pereira has an impressive 79% significant strike tally compared to Prochazka's 35% towards the end of the round. Pereira drops Prochazka with a nasty left hook! Prochazka is wobbled but the round ends before Pereira can capitalize. Unofficial scorecard: 10-8 Pereira.

[Jun 30, 2024 at 12:25 am ET · Shakiel Mahjouri]

All that remains is the main event. UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and former champ Jiri Prochazka rescued UFC 303 after Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler was scrapped. Pereira and Prochazka are coming off wins over Jamahal Hill and Aleksandar Rakic, respectively. Tonight's main event is a rematch from their November clash for the vacant title, which Pereira won via second-round TKO

[Jun 30, 2024 at 12:21 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Diego Lopes def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

[Jun 30, 2024 at 12:19 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dan Ige vs. Diego Lopes -- Round 3: Lopes let his hands go again but Ige shelled up defensively to block most of the incoming fire. Ige then landed a good right hand. Ige defended a takedown and landed some elbows to the head and then landed a series of heavy punches as Lopes looked to be fatigued. Ige shrugged off a takedown attempt to end up in top position with 90 seconds remaining in the fight. Ige worked strikes from in Lopes' guard, using a can opener to get space and smashing down elbows to the face. Ige then began dropping right hand and kicks before the fight ended.

[Jun 30, 2024 at 12:13 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dan Ige vs. Diego Lopes -- Round 2: A heavy Lopes leg kick landed in the early moments and a few right hands shortly after. Ige landed his own leg kick but at a body shot for his trouble. Ige threw a head kick that partially connected but Lopes caught the foot to score a takedown. Lopes quickly moved to take the back as Ige stood and remained on the back as the pair went back to the canvas with more than half of the round still to go. Lopes switched back and forth between poking with punches or hunting for a way to get his elbow under Ige's chin for a rear-naked choke. Ige threw his own punches back at Lopes' face despite being dominated positionally. Lopes switched to an armbar attempt in the final seconds but there was nothing to be found as Ige survived another round.

[Jun 30, 2024 at 12:07 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Dan Ige vs. Diego Lopes -- Round 1: Lopes threw a leg kick early as Ige looked to try and find his rhythm. Lopes unloaded a flurry of punches and then a knee up the middle but Ige took the shots fairly well. Ige missed with a wild punch and that allowed Lopes to tee off again but Ige came out of the situation alright again and landed his own left hand. The Lopes flurries continued coming, usually a wild flurry of hands with a knee thrown in toward the end but Igen continued to weather storms just hours after getting the call to get off his couch and get to T-Mobile Arena for a co-main event fight. Ige landed a sharp left hook but was met by a left from Lopes in return. The two men again came together trying to exchange punches, both landing a few but Lopes getting the better of things. Ige shot in for a takedown but found himself nearly locked in a guillotine choke. Lopes switched choke grips and nearly finished the fight only for Ige to break free and end the round throwing punches.

[Jun 30, 2024 at 12:01 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

It's time for the craziest UFC fight in memory. Dan Ige coming off the couch on a few hours' notice to face red-hot Diego Lopes in a 165-pound catchweight fight.