Winners And Losers From Pereira Vs. Prochazka 2 Card

The UFC is at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, for tonight’s UFC 303 pay-per-view card. In the main event of the fight card, UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira looks to defend his title against former champion Jiri Prochazka in a rematch. In the evening’s co-headlining contest, two-time UFC featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega faces the rising Diego Lopes in a lightweight scrap.

The main card for UFC 303 streams on ESPN+ PPV following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+.

Pereira is the defending light heavyweight champion, while Prochazka is the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC light heavyweight rankings. Both men last fought at UFC 300 in April. Pereira defeated former UFC champ Jamahal Hill by knockout on that card, while Prochazka knocked out Aleksandar Rakic.

Pereira, a former UFC middleweight champion, claimed the vacant light heavyweight crown in November 2023, when he knocked out Prochazka in their first meeting. That fight took place at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. Pereira won a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts in that outing.

The co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 303 fight card is a short-notice featherweight scrap turned lightweight matchup between two-time title challenger Brian Ortega and the fast-rising Diego Lopes. The promotion moved the fight to 155 pounds on weigh-in day when Ortega informed the parties involved that he would not be able to make the 145-pound featherweight limit or reach a 150-pound catchweight mark.

Also on the main card of UFC 303 is an important welterweight matchup between the undefeated Ian Machado Garry and veteran Michael “Venom” Page. The winner of that contest could find themselves in a potential title eliminator in their next trip to the Octagon.

UFC 303 results, winners and losers will be updated live throughout tonight’s pay-per-view card.

UFC 303 Winners

Jean Silva: Jean Silva moved to 2-0 in the UFC with two knockouts when he became the first man to finish Charles Jourdain via strikes.

Silva packs a lot of power in his hands, and he can deliver fight-ending blows in tight spaces, something he did on Saturday when he stopped Jourdain with a short blasting uppercut. At 27, Silva is someone to keep an eye on.

If there’s a knock against Silva, it’s that he seems to be having a little too much fun inside the Octagon. Acknowledging his opponent’s striking attempts during battle is something he should probably tamper down in the future.

Silva also missed weight for the featherweight scrap, something he’ll need to avoid going forward.

Payton Talbott: Payton Talbott made short work of Yanis Ghemmouri, scoring a nasty 19-second knockout that could have been stopped before the referee allowed Talbott to land several unnecessary ground strikes.

The 25-year-old has a lot of hype behind him, and he deserves a big test in his next outing. Talbott is now 3-0 in the UFC with three stoppage wins.

The UFC’s 135-pound division has a fair amount of talent; with fighters like Talbott in the mix, the division has a fighter to watch in this young man, who is also entertaining outside the cage.

Gillian Robertson: Gillian Robertson has looked more comfortable in her striking as of late, but she’s still a fighter who is most comfortable on the mat, which is where she excelled in picking up a one-sided decision win over Michelle Waterson-Gomez at UFC 303.

Robertson did not struggle in the least in this matchup, shutting down Waterson-Gomez. The win should give Robertson, who has been with the UFC since 2017, a chance to face an opponent inside the top 10 of the strawweight division.

Joe Rogan: During Andrei Arlovski’s fight, UFC commentator Joe Rogan more or less said that Arlovski is at the stage in his career where he’s unwilling to put himself at risk. It felt like Rogan was saying Arlovski is out there just collecting checks. Rogan’s call-out was warranted, but that’s not to say Arlovski shouldn’t do what he’s doing. Why shouldn’t he fight safe if the UFC is willing to book and pay him, and he can walk away from these fights without taking damage?

Rei Tsuruya vs Carlos Hernandez: This was a fun flyweight matchup that featured a lot of scrambling and mat work. Rei Tsuruya was clearly doing his best to pick up a twister submission, while Hernandez did a great job on defense.

It’ll be interesting to see what both men can do in the future.

Vinicius Oliveira: In his second fight with the UFC, Vinicius Oliveira picked up a dominant win over Ricky Simon. Oliveira looked good in picking up the victory, but there should be a lot of concern about his upside in the bantamweight division.

Oliveira was incredibly confident in his striking, but his defense is a worry. He also tends to overthrow, which puts him off balance, opens him for counters, and saps his energy.

Oliveira is a fun fighter to watch because of his confidence, but the jury should remain out on him until he faces a well-rounded competitor who has answers for his style, something the wrestling-based Ricky Simon did not have.

UFC 303 Losers

Michelle Waterson-Gomez: Michelle Waterson-Gomez entered UFC 303 on a 1-6 run, with her only win coming via split decision in September 2021. Despite her record, Waterson-Gomez was the No. 14 fighter in the official UFC strawweight rankings. Her opponent on Saturday, Gillian Robertson, dominated the fight, sending the 38-year-old into retirement.

Judging by her record over the past few years, Waterson-Gomez made the right decision to call it a career.

It was nice to see the UFC give her a tribute video at the end of the fight.

Martin Buday: After UFC 303, one wonders what’s next for Martin Buday. He’s fighting in a shallow division where one or two wins can put a competitor in the title mix. However, Buday didn’t seem interested in putting a spotlight on him on Saturday, when he did little more than push the 45-year-old Andrei Arlovski against the cage.

Arlovski is not the fighter he once was, but a big win over a man with name recognition would have helped Buday. Following his performance at UFC 303, no one will be hankering to see Buday’s next bout.

UFC: The UFC is paying Andrei Arlovski a lot of money to get into the Octagon and go through the motions. I know the heavyweight division is weak, but the promotion needs to consider if fans still want to see a 45-year-old Arlovski compete in the way he is doing in 2024.

Andrei Arlovski: Andrei Arlovski went through the motions at UFC 303, picking up a paycheck for his fourth straight loss. The 45-year-old has not won since he defeated Jake Collier in 2022.

Ricky Simon: Ricky Simon dropped his third straight fight, losing a decision to Vinicius Oliveira. Simon did not have a good game plan for his striking-based opponent. He seemed to be counting on Oliveira’s cardio failing him, which it did not do. When Simon could not keep Oliveira on the mat, it seemed like Simon ran out of options. Simon also failed to capitalize on the leg injury he caused when he checked one of Oliveira’s kicks in the second stanza.

UFC 303 Fight Card

UFC 303 Pay-Per-View card

Alex Pereira vs Jiri Prochazka

Brian Ortega vs Diego Lopes

Anthony Smith vs Roman Dolidze

Mayra Bueno Silva vs Macy Chiasson

Ian Machado Garry vs Michael “Venom” Page

UFC 303 Preliminary Card

Joe Pyfer vs Marc-Andre Barriault

Cub Swanson vs Andre Fili

Jean Silva defeats Charles Jourdain via knockout at 1:22 of Round 2 (Punch to head in clinch)

Payton Talbott defeats Yanis Ghemmouri via knockout at 0:19 of Round 1 (Punch to head at distance)

UFC 303 Early Preliminary Card

Gillian Robertson defeats Michelle Waterson-Gomez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Martin Buday defeats Andrei Arlovski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Rei Tsuruya defeats Carlos Hernandez via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

Vinicius Oliveira defeats Ricky Simon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

UFC 303 Fight Night Bonuses

UFC 303 Scorecards

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