The UFC’s seventh pay-per-view event of 2024 goes down Saturday to close out International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
Here’s how to watch UFC 303 with the light heavyweight weight title on the line at the top of the card – after Conor McGregor pulled out of his main event against Michael Chandler.
Broadcast and streaming info
UFC 303 has a main card that begins at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (via ESPN+). The four-fight prelim card airs on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, and four early prelims air and stream on ESPN and ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET.
Stay tuned to MMA Junkie for more broadcast details later this week.
Main event: Alex Pereira
Record: (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC)
Opponent: Jiri Prochazka (30-4-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC)
Division: Light heavyweight
Key wins: Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal Hill
Misc.: Pereira returns to defend the 205-pound title to save the event. It’s old hat for him. The fight with Prochazka is a rematch from UFC 295 – another time he stepped in late to save a main event – when he won the then-vacant belt with a second-round knockout. Less than three months ago, he headlined UFC 300 and knocked out ex-champ Jamahal Hill in the first round.
Main event: Jiri Prochazka
Record: (30-4-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC)
Opponent: Alex Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC)
Division: Light heavyweight
Key wins: Volkan Oezdemir, Dominick Reyes, Glover Teixeira, Aleksandar Rakic
Misc.: It didn’t take long for former champion Prochazka to get another crack at the title. He won the belt in June 2022 against Glover Teixeira, but vacated it later that year with an injury. He lost to Pereira when he returned this past November to fight for the vacant belt. But in April, he took out Aleksandar Rakic in the second round to stay in the hunt, and now finds himself with a quick turnaround with a lot on the line.
Co-main event: Diego Lopes
Record: (24-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC)
Opponent: Brian Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC)
Division: Featherweight
Key wins: Gavin Tucker, Pat Sabatini, Sodiq Yusuff
Misc.: Lopes took the fight with Ortega on short notice after the card lost the main and co-main events. Hopefully the UFC will take care of him for the step-up. After a loss in his promotional debut 13 months ago, he has three straight first-round finishes – including two for $50,000 bonuses.
Co-main event: Brian Ortega
Record: (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC)
Opponent: Diego Lopes (24-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC)
Division: Featherweight
Key wins: Renato Moicano, Cub Swanson, Frankie Edgar, Chan Sung Jung, Yair Rodriguez
Misc.: After a featherweight title loss to Alexander Volkanovski and a TKO loss to Yair Rodriguez when he suffered an injury, Ortega came back in a big way in February with a third-round submission of the Brazilian when they ran it back. He intends to go to lightweight after this one-off with Lopes.
UFC debut: Rei Tsuruya
Record: 9-0
Opponent: Carlos Hernandez (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC)
Division: Flyweight
Key wins: Ronal Siahaan, Mark Climaco and Jiniushiyue – all part of Road to UFC
Misc.: The 22-year-old Tsuruya, from Japan, has eight of his nine wins by stoppage – with four knockouts and four submissions. His career in Japan included fights for DEEP and Pancrase before his Road to UFC stint.
UFC 303 main card betting odds
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Alex Pereira -165 vs. Jiri Prochazka +140 – for light heavyweight title
- Diego Lopes -155 vs. Brian Ortega +130
- Roman Dolidze -140 vs. Anthony Smith +120
- Mayra Bueno Silva -165 vs. Macy Chiasson +140
- Ian Machado Garry -140 vs. Michael Page +120
UFC 303 prelim betting odds
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)
- Marc-Andre Barriault +220 vs. Joe Pyfer -270
- Andre Fili -205 vs. Cub Swanson +170
- Charles Jourdain -120 vs. Jean Silva +100
- Yanis Ghemmouri +900 vs. Payton Talbott -1600
UFC 303 early prelim betting odds
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)
- Gillian Robertson -175 vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez +145
- Andrei Arlovski +215 vs. Martin Buday -265
- Carlos Hernandez +360 vs. Rei Tsuruya -470
- Vinicius Oliveira +180 vs. Ricky Simon -220
