Jiri Prochazka of the Czech Republic faces off against Alex Pereira of Brazil in the UFC light ... [+]
Late last week, the UFC broke the news that an injury had forced former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor out of his scheduled UFC 303 bout opposite Michael Chandler. With the long anticipated matchup between McGregor and Chandler off the upcoming pay-per-view card, the UFC scrambled for a replacement fight. The promotion found that matchup in two of the more exciting fighters on the roster, current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and former 205-pound titleholder Jiri Prochazka.
Pereira and Prochazka first faced each other at UFC 295 in November 2023. Pereira claimed the vacant light heavyweight title on that night, when he scored a second-round TKO victory over the former champion.
Since that victory, Pereira has one title defense to his name, an April first-round knockout triumph over another former UFC champion, Jamahal Hill. As for Prochazka, he defeated Aleksandar Rakic on that same card, UFC 300, via a second round TKO. Prochazka is the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC light heavyweight rankings.
The originally scheduled co-main event of UFC 303 between Jamahal Hill and Carlos Ulberg also fell out last week after Hill suffered multiple injuries. Ulberg remains on the card. He faces former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith on the PPV portion of UFC 303.
Ulberg is coming off a May knockout win over Alonzo Menifield. Smith’s most recent outing was a May submission victory over Vitor Petrino. Ulberg is the No. 11 fighter in the UFC light heavyweight rankings, while Smith is listed at No. 10.
Below we look at the early betting odds for the reformatted UFC 300 fight card.
UFC 303 takes place on June 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN2.
UFC 303 Fight Card Early Betting Odds
Alex Pereira (-162) vs. Jiri Prochazka (+136)
Brian Ortega (+110) vs. Diego Lopes (-130)
Anthony Smith (+380) vs. Carlos Ulberg (-500)
Mayra Bueno Silva (-205) vs. Macy Chiasson (+170)
Ian Machado Garry (-125) vs. Michael Page (+105)
Joe Pyfer (-238) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (+195)
Cub Swanson (+160) vs. Andre Fili (-192)
Charles Jourdain (-148) vs. Jean Silva (+124)
Payton Talbot (-1050) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri (+675)
Michelle Waterson-Gomez (+164) vs. Gillian Robertson (-198)
Andrei Arlovski (+225) vs. Martin Buday (-278)
Rei Tsuruya (TBA) vs. Carlos Hernandez (TBA)
Ricky Simon (-238) vs. Vinicius Oliveira (+195)
All odds via Draft Kings
McGregor vs. Chandler update
McGregor and Chandler both posted on social media after their fight fell off the UFC 303 fight card with McGregor writing, “Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout. I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me. The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC, and my team. My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we will get there! Thank you for the messages of support, I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back!”
As for Chandler, he wrote, “Official statement: “I’m here, just as in 2009 when I started. The most reliable man in MMA. See you when I see you.”
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