LAS VEGAS — Saturday’s UFC 303 card didn’t come collectively simply. Not solely did the cardboard’s unique primary and co-main occasion each fall by, however the alternative co-main occasion fell aside and was pieced again collectively in the midst of the occasion’s broadcast.
Regardless of the rocky street, UFC officers managed to avoid wasting the Worldwide Combat Week occasion, even when the cardboard is not going to go down in historical past among the many most entertaining nights in UFC historical past.
What is going to go down in historical past, nevertheless, is mild heavyweight champion Alex Pereira’s second-round knockout win in his primary occasion rematch with former champ Jiri Prochazka. Pereira continued to construct on a brief resume that has already produced Corridor of Fame outcomes and even hinted at a possible transfer to heavyweight earlier than his profession is over.
Pereira’s potential transfer is simply one of many largest takeaways from Saturday evening’s motion. Let’s check out all of the tales value speaking about after UFC 303.
Is it time for Alex Pereira to move to heavyweight and cement his legacy?
It’s, frankly, mind-blowing what Pereira has managed to perform in simply 13 fights as knowledgeable blended martial artist. Pereira has received championship gold at middleweight and lightweight heavyweight and his resume already includes a who’s who of the elite of the game. Actually, apart from Andreas Michailidis and Bruno Silva in his first two fights, everybody Pereira has fought within the UFC, thus everybody he has defeated, was on the time both a former, present or future UFC champion.
After defeating Prochazka on Saturday, Pereira was requested level clean what his subsequent transfer could be, together with if he could be fascinated about transferring to heavyweight and try and make historical past as the primary fighter to ever maintain UFC gold in three weight lessons in a profession.
“I feel [moving to heavyweight is] in my future,” Pereira stated. “I stated that the final time I used to be right here. There did not appear to be an excessive amount of curiosity from the group however I am right here.”
There are different fights for Pereira at mild heavyweight, certain, however none that may generate the curiosity of mystique of a bounce to the game’s largest division and the pursuit of a 3rd belt. Simply weeks away from his thirty seventh birthday, Pereira has already stated he’s working on restricted time. With a full kickboxing profession and a baker’s dozen MMA bouts on his physique, the top of Pereira’s profession may come ahead of anybody want to admit.
For that purpose, it is time for the UFC to discover curiosity within the concept. Pereira is likely one of the promotion’s prime stars, most entertaining fighters and brightest personalities. Failure to encourage a fighter with these qualities to stamp their identify within the document e book quantities to promotional malpractice.
What per week (plus)
As soon as upon a time, the cardboard was scheduled to have former mild heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill going through Khalil Rountree within the co-main occasion slot. Rountree withdrew from the occasion as a consequence of an unintentional violation of the UFC’s anti-doping program and was changed by Carlos Ulberg. On the identical time Dana White introduced Conor McGregor had been pressured out of the primary occasion, he revealed Hill was additionally injured and out of his combat with Ulberg. Ulberg was then booked to face Anthony Smith and the combat was demoted from the co-main slot. After all, Ulberg would endure his personal harm and Smith was left to face short-notice opponent Roman Dolidze.
Because the combat modified time and again, the UFC was left to discover a new co-main occasion, arising with a unbelievable late-notice featherweight combat between Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega. By the early hours of Friday morning, Lopes’ cellphone was ringing as Ortega’s camp wanted the combat to be modified to a light-weight bout as their man could not make weight. Come Saturday evening, as fights have been actively happening within the Octagon, the whispers began. Dan Ige had gotten a name and was en path to T-Cellular Area to interchange Ortega on just a few hours’ discover.
All credit score to Ige for taking one of many (if not the) wildest possibilities in UFC historical past, however how did we arrive at a spot the place an Worldwide Combat Week card is held collectively by string and bailing wire? There’s an previous joke about IFW playing cards being cursed, however the UFC hinged the complete attraction of the occasion on McGregor’s return to begin. It was a minor miracle that they managed to salvage the cardboard in any respect by getting Pereira and Prochazka on board and even including Ortega vs. Lopes to the cardboard within the course of. However issues went sideways once more and it took getting Ige to return actually off the sofa and thru Las Vegas site visitors to forestall the co-main occasion of an IFW card from being Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze.
What occurred to the UFC megacards of only a few years in the past? Has the weekly churn of content material to easily fulfill a profitable rights settlement produced such a cynical method to matchmaking and card construction that even the most important weekends of the yr can almost crumble on the breaking of a pinky toe? Let’s hope the UFC discovered a lesson from how shut they got here to catastrophe on so many events with UFC 303.
Ige might have scored the best ethical victory in UFC historical past
For all of the discuss above in regards to the a number of scrambles to carry the cardboard collectively, all credit score must be given to the lads who stepped up regardless of how brief the discover. And no one stepped up extra or on shorter discover than Dan Ige. Ige’s determination to reply the UFC’s name on just a few hours’ discover was one factor, however to ship the hassle he did was one thing else solely.
Ige was the stronger, more energizing man when the combat got here to a detailed, successful the third spherical on all three official scorecards in opposition to Lopes, who was pink scorching coming into UFC 303 and favored over a two-time former title challenger in Brian Ortega. Ige took a number of flurries of huge photographs from Lopes, who was driving the momentum of three consecutive sub-100-second victories, however by no means appeared near being stopped, nor was he panicked when Lopes had his again and was looking for the submission.
As an alternative, Ige stored coming till Lopes light and commenced to crumble. Time finally ran out on Ige and Lopes acquired his hand raised after three official scorecards learn 29-28. But it surely’s Ige who took the chance and who walked away from UFC 303 having constructed his legend.
“This is a chance to change into a legend,” Ige stated of his determination to take a threat few would. “This can be a story I’ll inform my grandkids.”
Ian Machado Garry wins however fails to impress the group, once more
When Garry got here to the UFC, the promotion could not wait to push the narrative that Garry could possibly be the second coming of McGregor. It was a straightforward sufficient concept to push. Garry and McGregor each made their first journeys to the Octagon as brash Irishmen with ability to spare. On Saturday, Garry picked up a win over Michael “Venom” Web page, operating his UFC document to 8-0 (and profession document to 15-0). It was an enormous win over a well-liked and pretty achieved fighter, however Garry acquired the win by sucking almost each little bit of leisure out of the combat.
There’s nothing inherently fallacious with combating within the smartest method that may get you the victory, particularly if you’re younger and undefeated. However Garry has misplaced steam as a rising famous person. For back-to-back fights, Garry has had his hand raised whereas the group showered him with boos. And, previous to these two fights, Garry discovered himself dragged down into the mud of an unsightly outside-the-cage rivalry with Colby Covington that began to show the tide of public opinion.
No matter Garry does subsequent, it must be one thing that shifts the narrative. He could not entice Covington right into a combat at UFC 303, although not for lack of making an attempt. Pushing that combat, and getting a win over an enormous identify like Covington, could possibly be one thing to place some wind again in Garry’s sails and get followers invested in his journey towards a world championship.