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Jeff Wagenheim, ESPN
The UFC 303 date has been circled on many calendars for months. Even sports fans who rarely watch an evening of mixed martial arts have made plans to do so on June 29, if only for the luxury and spectacle. This coming weekend is scheduled to be long-anticipated The return of Conor McGregor, by far the brightest star in MMA, is a familiar crossover even for folks who don’t know the front kick from the naked back choke.
But earlier this month, everything went sideways. The UFC had scheduled a news conference on June 3 in McGregor’s hometown of Dublin to promote his comeback fight with Michael Chandler, then suddenly canceled the morning event without explanation. For more than a week, there has been silence from the promotion of the fight while fan speculation has spread over potential scenarios. Finally, on June 13, the UFC announced that McGregor was injured and would not headline UFC 303.
The devotees of the gaudy extravaganza were inconsolable, no doubt, but for the hard-core MMA fans, there was a consolation prize: the main event was renewed.
Well, it’s true that neither light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira nor his challenger, former champion Jiří Procházka, are in McGregor’s league in terms of fame or notoriety. But McGregor who is going to fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this weekend was the Elvis of Vegas this year, still riding the idolization built on the virtuosity and panache of a long-gone era. The new UFC 303 headliners, by contrast, are at the top of their game. Pereira is arguably the sport’s most “anytime, anywhere, anyone” fighter, as evidenced by agreeing to put his belt on the line against the dangerously avant-garde Procházka in two weeks. If there were any BMF power rankings, Pereira would push the list.
Before ruling the UFC’s 205-pound weight class, Pereira was the king of the middleweight division. Before that, he was a two-division kickboxing world champion. That’s a lot of accomplishments for someone with only eight Octagon appearances. How new to the game is Pereira? The man he replaced, McGregor, last fought in July 2021. Pereira didn’t make his UFC debut until four months after that.
Saturday’s rekindled main event is a rematch from last November when Pereira won the belt. It was closely contested and swung both ways – mostly to Procházka, to be honest – before Pereira landed a left hook in Round 2 that was the start of the end. Speaking of the beginning, though: The most spine-tingling highlight comes during the prefight introduction, when the fighters stand in the corner of the cage staring at each other, not a single person moving a muscle. If Pereira and Procházka can bring their cool energy back on Saturday, we’re in for a good one.
Several storylines will play out at UFC 303. These are the most intriguing questions, which will be answered tonight.
1. It is the right fight, but what is the right time?
Light heavyweight champion: Alex Pereira vs. Jiří Procházka
A lot of praise has been heaped on UFC CEO Dana White and his right-hand man Hunter Campbell for resuscitating this fight card after McGregor’s devastating withdrawal, and I’m not here to deny that the UFC brass responded heroically.
But as much as there is love about the replacement of the main event, I have a queasy feeling about the time. I prefer that fighters in high stakes matches, such as champions, have a full training camp to prepare. Two weeks is not enough time for us to be sure that the two will enter the best cage.
What eases my concerns a bit is that these fighters shared the Octagon only seven months ago. They were familiar and knew that this rematch would come one day. And in the case of the fight against Procházka, will even a longer camp ensure that people are ready for his unpredictable brand of gung-ho? Still, this is a rare case where MMA would be better off — for the level of competitiveness and ultimately the fans — if it were more like boxing, which works on the fighters’ calendars, not the promoters’ calendars.
Having said all that, I am ready to rope in for Plan B that is Grade A all the way. Let’s go crazy.
2. Is there enough room in the cage to fit all the showmanship?
Welterweight: Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael “Venom” Page
Fighting appeals to us for a wide array of reasons. There are bouts where the shiny belt is on the line or taken close to the rope has risen to catch. There are fights where trash talk sucks us in and also Justin Gaethje-style matchups that spew no mean words, just promise wall-to-wall violence. Then there’s this match straight out of a video game.
I like to think of the main card opener as setting the tone for what’s to come. And while I don’t expect anyone on the pay-per-view card to wrestle like Garry or MVP, I believe these two will be influencers. Both men are creative and aggressive attackers, although they approach the art of stand-up from different angles. Both are offensively minded while remaining defensively sound. This shows that it will be an action fight with twists and turns, a tough action to follow.
And if Garry makes his strong leg kicking game the difference, it may reflect how Pereira approaches the main event.
3. Can we count this battle to re-sign active duty?
Featherweight: Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes
Ortega has only played five times since 2018, and he has lost three of those matches. But his first two losses came in UFC title challenges against Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. Another loss occurred due to injury, when Ortega dislocated his shoulder during the 2022 meeting with Yair Rodriguez and was unable to continue. After a year and a half of recovery, Ortega returned in February and choked out Rodriguez in a rematch.
So, the numbers don’t tell the whole story of Ortega’s recent career. But five fights in almost six years? This meeting with Lopes, a prospect who has won five of his last six matches, will be the measuring stick that will determine whether “T-City” still has residency in Contenderville.
4. Have any 205-pounders not been booked in this fight?
Light heavyweight: Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze
Resilience is necessary for MMA fighters, and the same is true for MMA matchmakers.
These attributes are shown in the reboot of the main event, but this fight takes the flexibility and decisiveness of UFC executives to a different level. Originally, the UFC 303 co-main event was scheduled to pit former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill against Khalil Rountree Jr. Such matches — contested between competitors in the same weight class as the main event — serve as a safety net, providing a fallback plan if one of the headliners has to pull out.
But the safety net frayed when Rountree withdrew and was replaced by Carlos Ulberg. Then Hill was also pulled out, and Smith was put in to face Ulberg – until Ulberg went down and was replaced by Dolidze. This dizzying incident caused the safety net to break down.
This could be a fun scrap, but I’m reluctant to say too much about it since it’s still a few days before fight night. Who knew the game of musical chairs was over?
5. What will happen to those who are not there?
Conor McGregor is fighting an uncertain future
There is no indication that McGregor will be participating in UFC 303, but at the very least, he will be a ghost, covering his presence. This will happen even though T-Mobile Arena’s video screens and UFC broadcasts make no reference to its absence or future. When announcing McGregor’s resignation two weeks ago, White barely mentioned him before quickly moving on to whomever. already going to war. Of course, the focus of the UFC CEO that day is to sell tickets and pay-per-views, and live on what the fans will not see would be the shrewdest marketing strategy.
But if UFC 303 passes without a word about the biggest star in the company, it can be interpreted as a premonition of what will come – or not come – in a sport that misses his star power. On Saturday night, when McGregor has to walk into the glory of the tin whistle of “The Foggy Dew,” he will be just 11 days shy of three years since the end of the fight. How long was his fourth year of inactivity before he returned? will did he come back?
If I had to guess, McGregor will spend Saturday night with a pint of stout in one hand and a tweeting device in the other. He can praise some people, and will always speak harshly about others. But rest assured that this will not be the headliners night of UFC 303. Conor McGregor never shirks the spotlight.
