Tomorrow night in the main event of UFC 303, the light heavyweight title is on the line. Two of the most exciting fighters in the entire promotion will battle it out for a second time as light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (10-2) takes on former champion Jiri Prochazka (30-4-1).
These two men first fought last November in the main event of UFC 295 at MSG. The vacant title was up for grabs and these two put on a helluva fight. They both had their moments but Pereira was able to land a perfect short hook in an exchange in the second round which led him to finishing the fight.
Pereira won a second title in a second weight class in just his 10th professional MMA bout. After winning the title, Pereira defended it at UFC 300 against Jamahal Hill who had vacated the title the year before due to injury. Pereira knocked out Hill in the first round to retain his title.
Earlier in the evening that night, Jiri Prochazka returned to face Aleksandar Rakic. Rakic was really getting the better of things early in that fight, but Prochazka never stopped coming forward and he made the exchanges wild. In the middle of the chaos, Prochazka was able to land a massive shot which led to him winning by second round TKO.
This was always going to be the next fight for both men, but it’s happening sooner than anyone thought. After Conor McGregor had to pull out of the main event against Michael Chandler, both Pereira and Prochazka agreed to step up and let their rematch save the day for UFC 303.
UFC 303 Prediction
In their first fight, Alex Pereira damaged Prochazka early on with leg kicks and that really hindered Prochazka’s movement. This was also a problem that Prochazka had in his fight with Aleksandar Rakic. Checking leg kicks is a huge problem for Prochazka because he’s extremely heavy on his front foot and he relies so much on his movement.
Prochazka was able to get away with hindered movement in the Rakic fight mainly due to the fact that Rakic didn’t possess the same punching power that Pereira has. Prochazka made it a war in the pocket with Rakic and won that war. I don’t think he can win that kind of war with Alex Pereira.
Jiri Prochazka was having success at UFC 295 before getting clipped by Pereira. If he fight check leg kicks and throw rangey punches, I think he can have a lot of success again. However, I just think Pereira has that nuclear option in his hands and until he loses, it’s hard to beg against him finding one of those big shots.
I’m expecting Pereira to retain tomorrow night. I believe we are going to see a war, but ultimately, Pereira lands something huge in the middle rounds and gets the job done again.
Prediction: Alex Pereira by TKO