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With hours before he was scheduled to step inside the octagon against third-ranked Brian Ortega in the UFC 303 co-main event on Saturday, Diego Lopes got a new opponent.  

Following Friday’s UFC 303 Weigh-In, Ortega fell ill and started running a high fever.  The Nevada Athletic Commission deemed Ortega ‘medically unable to fight.’  Dan Ige, who lives in the Las Vegas area, stepped in to face Lopes.  The bout was moved to a 165-pound catchweight match and Lopes weighed in again to make it official.  

The fight between Ortega and Lopes was originally slated to be a featherweight fight.  During fight week, the bout was moved to 155 pounds and both men weighed in at exactly that weight.  What started as a featherweight bout ended up being moved up 20 pounds for Lopes.   

Ige entered the fight coming off a knockout win over Andre Fili in his last outing in February.  He had won three of his last four fights.  Lopes was riding a three-fight winning streak with first-round finishes over his last three opponents.    

The fight began with a bit of a slow start.  Ige closed the distance and was met with a knee and a flurry of punches.  Ige missed with a left hand and Lopes landed a counter right hand. Every time Ige stepped into the pocket, Lopes unloaded multiple-punch combinations.  Ige went to the body with a left hand and Lopes landed a counter right hand.  Ige landed a right hand and the two exchanged in close quarters.  Ige changed levels and took Lopes down but Lopes locked on a guillotine choke.  Ige defended the submission attempt and rose to his feet at the sound of the bell.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Lopes.

Lopes landed first in the second round with a leg kick.  Ige switched stances before connecting with a right hand.  Ige delivered a leg kick and Lopes responded with a combination to the body.  Ige landed a head kick but Lopes caught it and took the fight to the ground.  He took Ige’s back, who had stood.  They fell back to the canvas and Lopes applied a body triangle.  Ige defended his neck and delivered a couple of hard right hands behind to Lopes.  The round ended with Lopes still on Ige’s back.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Lopes.

Ige’s corner told him that he had nothing to lose between rounds.  Ige pressured Lopes and landed a right hand.  Lopes responded with a left hand.  Ige delivered a hard right hand.  Lopes reacted with his jab.  Ige continued to pressure Lopes.  Lopes connected with a leg kick and looked to get the fight to the ground.  Ige stayed upright and separated.  He went back to pressuring Lopes.  Ige connected with another right hand.  

Ige landed a straight left hand that had Lopes shooting for legs from far away.  Ige got out of the position and gained top position on the ground with 90 seconds left in the fight.  Ige landed a right hand.  Lopes held on from the bottom trying to control Ige’s posture.  Ige delivered right hands to the body before posturing up and landing left hands.  Ige stood and dropped in with a right hand.  Lopes connected with an up kick in the closing seconds.  MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Lopes.  

The judges scored the fight for Lopes via unanimous decision.  The scorecards read 29-28, 29-28, and 29-28.

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA- McGregor vs. Chandler could be happening soon.

Last night (Sat., June 29, 2024), UFC 303 was supposed to be headlined by the highly anticipated return of Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler; however, because of a toe injury, UFC Light Heavyweight champion Alex Pereira knocked out Jiri Prochazka with a nasty head kick from inside the T-Moble Arena in Las Vegas (watch highlights).

During UFC 303, Chandler made a ‘guest fighter’ appearance in the media room and was, of course, asked about his situation.

“[I did meet with the UFC last night] I was with the UFC, and we’re working on some things,” Chandler told the media. “It’s always related to Conor. People can talk about my motivation for waiting. What my motivation is for sitting out for as long as I have. Quite frankly, I needed a little bit of time off. I came into the UFC hot, had some fight of the year candidates. So, it’s always revolving around Conor; I’ve enjoyed this time doing things outside of the octagon…Sources close to Conor know that he’s going to be ready in September, August, so we can make some things happen.”

Chandler has been ridiculously positive throughout this entire situation and continues to be so.

UFC CEO Dana White has refused to discuss the fight until McGregor is completely healthy and even ruled out August, September or October.

Check out the entire crazy timeline of the McGregor vs. Chandler drama here.

For complete UFC 303 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Alex Pereira’s latest masterpiece is even more brutal up close.

Pereira continued to add to his fast-expanding war chest of accolades on Saturday when he knocked out Jiri Prochazka for the second time in the past seven months at UFC 303. While there may have been debate over a potentially early stoppage the first time around at UFC 295, that was certainly not the case in the rematch, as Pereira demolished Prochazka with a head kick and follow-up punches to successfully defend his UFC light heavyweight just 13 seconds into the second round.

Afterward, UFC broadcast partner ESPN released cageside video of the vicious fight-ending sequence, which can be watched below.

Pereira (11-2) remains just one of nine fighters in UFC history to capture titles in two divisions, having also won the middleweight belt with a win over Israel Adesanya in 2022. In total, Pereira has won eight of his nine UFC appearances, defeating either current or former champions in six of those contests.

Post-fight, Pereira again teased the possibility of moving up to heavyweight for a chance to become the first fighter in UFC history to win belts in three separate divisions.

UFC 303 took place June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Full fight highlights of Pereira vs. Prochazka 2 can be watched here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Alex Pereira gave the UFC and its fans plenty to celebrate.

Stepping in on short notice against a dangerous opponent he’d defeated just seven months ago, Pereira put on one hell of an encore as he once again put Jiri Prochazka away via strikes in the main event of UFC 303 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Their first fight concluded with a fair, if early stoppage, but there was no doubt that Pereira had Prochazka’s number in the rematch.

For his efforts, the light heavyweight champion was awarded a $ 50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, his fifth since joining the UFC in 2021.

Fight of the Night went to featherweight veterans Andre Fili and Cub Swanson. The two clashed on the preliminary portion of the card, with Fili eking out a close split decision.

Earlier in the week, UFC CEO Dana White teased that he would hand out two Fight of the Night bonuses to commemorate UFC 303. Though he didn’t follow up on that, there were six total bonuses handed out with three other fighters receiving Performance of the Night bonuses in addition to Pereira.

Macy Chiasson was the other main card fighter to receive an extra $ 50,000 after she scored the biggest win of her career over recent bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva. An elbow from Chiasson opened a gaping cut over Silva’s right eye, which forced a doctor stoppage.

Preliminary fighters Payton Talbott and Joe Pyfer also cashed in with fast knockouts. Talbott, a blue-chip bantamweight prospect, needed just 19 seconds to put Yanis Ghemmouri out, while Pyfer bounced back from his first UFC loss by smashing Marc-Andre Barriault in under half a minute.

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