Everything MMA fans need to know about UFC 303: Pereira vs Prochazka, including the date, start time, full card and a recap of the story so far.
One of the biggest superstars the combat sports world has ever witnessed, Conor McGregor, was finally set to make his return to the UFC later this month.
Unfortunately, Notorious’ long-awaited return against the always-entertaining, awe-inspiring veteran Michael Chandler will have to be put on hold; as Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka step up to save the PPV.
UFC 303 card
As per the UFC website, the following bouts are scheduled for UFC 303 – the official bout order, including the order of preliminary/early preliminary fights, has not yet been confirmed.
UFC 303 fight 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 Page
UFC 303 preliminary card
- Cub Swanson vs Andre Fili
- Joe Pyfer vs Marc-Andre Barriault
- Charles Jourdain vs Jean Silva
- Payton Talbott vs Yanis Ghemmouri
- Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs Gillian Robertson
- Andre Arlovski vs Martin Buday
- Rei Tsuruya vs Carlos Hernandez
- Ricky Simon vs Vinicius Oliveira
Across the entire UFC 303 card, there are 11 ranked fighters – a reminder that Conor McGregor was not ranked at either lightweight or welterweight before the main event was canceled.
UFC 303 fighters
UFC 303 was meant to be headlined by a welterweight clash between the ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor and fan-favorite veteran ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler, with the two warriors having previously featured as coaches on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2023.
McGregor hasn’t competed in the UFC for almost three years and is just 1-3 in his last four fights.
The latter of the two back-to-back defeats to Dustin Poirier in 2021 ended in a horrific broken ankle for the Irish superstar.
Meanwhile, Chandler’s last bout in the UFC was also against Poirier and also ended in defeat.
‘Iron’ might be 2-3 since making his big money signing from Bellator, but his entertaining style and iconic (read inspirational) speeches have already made him a favorite within the community.
However, after several weeks of speculation, Dana White sadly confirmed that McGregor suffered an injury and is out of the main event fight vs Chandler – in their place, light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira rematches Jiri Prochazka.
The fan-favorite Brazilian power puncher was able to secure a second-round knockout of the Czech Samurai back in November 2023 to claim the vacant 205lb strap.
Yet there was a tinge of controversy as many fans believed that the referee waved a stop to the contest too early, following Pereira dropping Prochazka with a short left hook.
The main event was one of several changes made to the main card of UFC 303, with the co-main event now set to feature featherweight contenders Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes.
There have also been several alterations to the featured light heavyweight bout as first Khalil Rountree Jr withdrew from his fight with Jamahal Hill (replaced by Carlos Ulberg), before Hill pulled out (replaced by Anthony Smith) and finally Ulberg himself – with the bout now being Anthony Smith vs Roman Dolidze.
Bantamweight contenders Macy Chiasson and Mayra Beuno Silva also populate the main card; although fans will undoubtedly be far more interested in the fight between Ian Machado Garry and Michael ‘Venom’ Page.
Garry had been calling for a long-awaited clash with Colby Covington, but instead, the #7 ranked Irish star draws UFC newcomer and #13 ranked MVP, who himself burst onto the scene with a dominant decision win over Kevin Holland in his promotional debut.
When is UFC 303 taking place?
UFC 303 is scheduled to go down on Saturday, June 29.
The PPV event will be the culmination of International Fight Week, which will feature the 2024 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and the UFC X Fan Experience.
Where is UFC 303 taking place?
UFC 303: Pereira vs Prochazka 2 takes place at the iconic T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
As of early June, and prior to the UFC Apex Fight Night card on June 15, Las Vegas has hosted a whopping 236 UFC events with 28 of those being held at the T-Mobile Arena.
How to watch UFC 303
The UFC 303 early prelims will be available to watch via ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass starting from 3 PM PT/6 PM ET/11 PM BST.
The preliminary bouts will follow via ESPN and ESPN+ a few hours later, with those fights set to feature from 5 PM PT/8 PM ET/1 AM BST.
Finally, the main card will start at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET/3 AM BST (that’s Sunday, June 30 for fans in the UK) and will be a PPV event, which means fans will have to purchase the product via ESPN+ PPV.
How to get tickets for UFC 303
According to the T-Mobile Arena’s official ticketing page for the UFC 303 event, there are still seats available – if you can afford them.
A few weeks out from the event, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a floor seat under $4,000, with prices steadily decreasing the higher up the stands you go. Although those ‘rafter’ tickets will still set you back close to $1,000 each.
UFC 303: Pereira vs Prochazka and the story so far
The following will be an ongoing recap of the build-up to UFC 303, including all the notable stories you’ll want to keep track of as we look ahead to what could have, should have been McGregor and Chandler throwing down in the main event.
June 26: Israel Adesanya predicts Jiri Prochazka will defeat his former foe to reclaim the light heavyweight championship title.
June 26: The Bloody Elbow team argue whether Alex Pereira is the face of the UFC post-McGregor.
June 24: Jiri Prochazka claims that Alex Pereira can’t fight with ‘spiritual things’ helping him ahead of their UFC 303 main event.
June 21: Conor McGregor takes to social media to confirm the injury that forced him out of UFC 303 was a broken toe.
June 18: MVP thinks he’s finally getting inside Ian Machado Garry’s head as he notes the Irishman has been unusually quiet ahead of their clash.
June 17: Michael Chandler posts a heartfelt message to his supporters, claiming he got the ‘rug pulled from underneath’ him by Conor McGregor and the UFC.
June 16: Michael ‘Venom’ Page reveals that after he beats Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303, he’ll call for a shot at former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
June 14: Featherweight fan favorites Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega added to UFC 303 on short notice.
June 13: Dana White confirms that McGregor is out, and will be replaced by Pereira vs Prochazka 2.
June 12: Reports emerge that the main event of UFC 303 is now ‘in limbo’ as rumors of a potential injury hit the internet.
June 7: Michael Chandler appears on The Pivot Podcast to confirm despite the rumors, his bout with McGregor is still set to go ahead as planned for UFC 303.
June 7: Conor McGregor posts a series of training videos online, in which he looks both sharp and injury-free.
June 6: Whilst Dana White stopped short of claiming McGregor was using mind games on Chandler, the UFC president did compare his ability to wage mental warfare to boxing icon Muhammad Ali.
June 4: Jake Paul reacts to the UFC 303 press conference being canceled by using Dana White’s own statement regarding his boxing fight with Mike Tyson, against him.
June 4: Rumors swirl online after the UFC 303 press conference in Ireland is canceled at the last minute, prompting Daniel Cormier to warn fans should ‘brace’ themselves.
May 30: Ahead of his main event clash against Ian Machado Garry, fan favorite striker Michael ‘Venom’ Page took a swing at the surging Irish star.
May 26: Fans are concerned that ‘Notorious’ might not be training correctly as he posts videos of him partying in his pub until 2:15 in the morning.
May 22: Daniel Cormier reveals that Michael Chandler has already planned his UFC 303 celebration, and that it involves a specially-made cocktail set.
May 19: Khalil Rountree Jr confirms he’s out of his UFC 303 clash against Jamahal Hill after accidentally consuming a banned substance.
May 13: Dana White confirms that even several weeks away from the event, the gate for McGregor vs Chandler has broken a long-standing promotional record.
May 8: Michael Chandler vowed to put a halt to one of the greatest UFC returns in history and to not only beat Conor McGregor but retire him at UFC 303.
April 19: PFL featherweight superstar Brendan Loughnane told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive interview detailed his secret sparring sessions with McGregor in Dubai.
An infamous build-up for a ‘Notorious’ return, it all goes down live from the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, June 29.