- Alex Pereira defends his UFC light heavyweight title against Jiří Procházka in the main event of UFC 303 in Las Vegas.
- Both Pereira and Procházka were coming off stoppage wins at UFC 300.
- Pereira is the betting favorite at -170, and Procházka is the +140 betting underdog.
The light heavyweight title rematch between defending champion Alex Pereira and challenger Jiří Procházka goes down this weekend inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pereira drew first blood in their head-to-head matchup in November at UFC 295 when he scored a second-round TKO finish against Procházka to win the vacant 205-pound title.
Light Heavyweight GOLD is on the LINE this weekend 🏆@AlexPereiraUFC vs @Jiri_BJP 2
[ B2YB: @CryptoCom | #UFC303 ] pic.twitter.com/sO35HO9yUv
— UFC (@ufc) June 24, 2024
That victory is the main reason why Pereira comes into the fight with UFC odds of -170. Meanwhile, Procházka will be the +140 betting underdog heading into the second encounter. Additionally, both athletes are coming off impressive victories during the UFC 300 card in April to set up this gigantic rematch.
Alex Pereira Recent Fight Results
Pereira was a former two-division GLORY Kickboxing world champion who transitioned to MMA full-time in 2020. He quickly recorded three impressive victories in the UFC to challenge Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title in November 2022 and successfully beat him with a fifth-round TKO finish.
The Brazilian then was defeated by Adesanya during their rematch in April 2023 via second-round knockout. Following this defeat, Pereira moved up to the light heavyweight division and beat former champion Jan Blachowicz to earn a spot in the division’s top five rankings.
Against Poatan, any mistake has grave consequences.@AlexPereiraUFC aims to defend his light heavyweight title at #UFC303 🏹
[ LIVE on @ESPNPlus PPV | SAT | 10pmET/7pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/ZZVIVneZWP
— UFC (@ufc) June 24, 2024
In November, he was pitted against Procházka for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title and finished him in two rounds to win his second title under the promotion. Pereira successfully fended off the challenge from former champion Jamahal Hill with a first-round knockout in April at UFC 300 to retain his championship.
Jiří Procházka Recent Fight Results
Procházka instantly made a name for himself inside the octagon after scoring back-to-back finishes against top contenders Volkan Oezdemir in July 2020 at UFC 251 and Dominick Reyes in May 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Reyes vs. Procházka card. These fantastic wins secured him a shot for his first UFC championship.
He brings pure chaos to the Octagon every single time 💥@Jiri_BJP is coming for the light heavyweight title at #UFC303
[ LIVE on @ESPNPlus PPV | SATURDAY | 10pmET/7pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/rFeP13WhUs
— UFC (@ufc) June 24, 2024
In June 2022, Procházka challenged Glover Teixeira for the UFC light heavyweight title and won by submission late in the fifth round to become the new king of the division. Unfortunately, he suffered a nasty injury that forced him out of the competition for almost a year, which forced him to vacate the title.
In November, he tried to reclaim it against Pereira but was TKO’d. His path back to title contention was restored when he stopped Aleksandar Rakić in April at UFC 300 via second-round TKO and claimed his fourth win under the UFC banner.
Alex Pereira vs. Jiří Procházka: Tale of the Tape
| Alex Pereira | Jiří Procházka | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 36 | 31 |
| Height | 6’4” | 6’3” |
| Reach | 79 inches | 80 inches |
| Leg Reach | 44 inches | 45 inches |
| Record | 10-2 | 30-4-1 |
| Fighting Style | Kickboxing | Muay Thai |
| Finishing Rate | 80% | 97% |
Alex Pereira vs. Jiří Procházka: Fight Analysis
Since this is a rematch, I’ll be throwing away the tale of the tape and statistics from both fighters out of the window and instead look at the good things they did during the first meeting seven months ago.
Pereira did a fantastic job maximizing his powerful calf kick, especially in the early phase of the fight, since it compromised Procházka’s leg badly, so he needed to switch instances in the first two minutes of the match.
This gave the Brazilian a massive upper hand because he was able to limit the movement of his Czech opponent. He also removed significant power from his strikes because he couldn’t plant his leg and generate enough torque.
Furthermore, Pereira’s counterstrikes were also on point. He did a great job catching Procházka whenever he marched forward and swarmed him with blitzes of punches and kicks. In fact, a counter right hook and left hook combination was the beginning of the end during the first match.
On the other side of the fence, Procházka was having success blitzing Pereira with multiple punches that forced him on the backfoot. These attacks were also responsible for several big moments during their first bout when he caught him with clean shots to the head.
Another good thing that Procházka did so well was to bait Pereria with takedown feints because he was too worried about defending takedowns and defending them. This also allowed him to throw big uppercuts that clipped the Brazilian multiple times.
Looking ahead to the rematch, a strategic recommendation for Procházka would be to exploit Pereira’s deficiency in takedowns. Procházka’s dominance in this area, particularly at the latter end of the opening round, could be a game changer in the upcoming fight.
However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Pereira, especially in his last three fights, it’s that you don’t bet against him because he’ll surely prove you wrong. His current form looks unstoppable, and I don’t see him dropping a fight anytime soon.
Official Prediction: TKO/KO victory for Alex Pereira.
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