UFC 303 just ended, and the event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was the fourth-highest gate in UFC history. It was a wild card for sure, and not just because of the fights. In the build-up, there were multiple cancellations, weight class changes, and even a fighter stepping in on four hours’ notice (Dan Ige) to save the co-main event. No doubt it’s been a stressful couple of weeks for everybody involved in the production, and Dana White said he’s looking forward to visiting Maine, turning his phone off and not talking to anybody as he digests the events of 303.

”The guys that were involved in the co-main event tonight (Diego Lopes and Dan Ige) are just absolute studs. Think about this. Diego gets the call, ‘He’s [Brian Ortega] not going to make weight.’ [Lopes says] ”No problem, I’ll take the fight”. That right there is already mentally challenging, you know? Then he gets the call that he’s [Ortega] out, and we wanna put somebody else in [Dan Ige], and he accepts the fight. [Ige’s] a completely different style to what he trained for, and he still takes the fight.”

Despite everything that was thrown at Diego Lopes this week, he still managed to emerge victorious with a unanimous decision victory. His willingness to adapt epitomizes being willing to fight ‘anyone, anywhere’, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the UFC gave him a big fight next to reward him for his attitude towards adversity.

Alex Pereira (C) Vs. Jiří Procházka

In the UFC 303 main event, Alex Pereira and Jiří Procházka ran it back for the lightweight title. Pereira won the first contest via TKO in the second round last November at UFC 295, and tonight’s outcome was the same. After a signature left hook dropped Procházka at the end of the first round, the challenger was saved by the bell but looked unsteady on his feet as he returned to his corner. He was given ice on the back of his head in an attempt by his coaches to allow him to regain composure.

It wasn’t successful as shortly after the second round began, Pereira delivered a devastating head kick, a strike which should have stopped the fight there and then. Procházka then took a couple of unnecessary blows before the fight was eventually brought to a halt by the referee, Herb Dean. It was only Pereira’s 13th MMA fight and just his 9th in the UFC. He is already a two-weight world champion with two title defences, and much talk after the event has been regarding the chances of him moving up to heavyweight to try and become the organization’s first-ever three-weight champion. When asked about this, Dana White gave his customary response of ”We’ll see how this thing plays out.”

The heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, is booked to fight Stipe Miocic in November and the interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, is defending against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, so unless Blaydes wins or we see an unfortunate injury to another star, it’s difficult to see how Pereira could logistically fit into the heavyweight title picture.