Alex Pereira landed a powerful left kick to the head of Jiri Prochazka, knocking out the top-ranked challenger 13 seconds into the second round to retain his light heavyweight title at UFC 303.
Pereira (11-2) has defeated Prochazka (30-5-1) twice since November, erasing any doubts about who will rule the weight class.
Most of the drama at UFC 303 occurred outside the Octagon over the weekend and even in the hours leading up to the event.
The refereeing team had to work quickly after Brian Ortega withdrew from the co-main event due to illness, necessitating a last-minute change, and Dan Ige was already training for another bout in Las Vegas, where he will face Diego Lopez in a lightweight bout.
All three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Lopez (25-6), of Brazil. Ige (18-8), a Honolulu native who lives in Las Vegas, drew loud cheers for showing up to the bout almost unannounced.
UFC also rushed the pairing of Pereira and Prochazka after main event star Conor McGregor was forced to withdraw with a broken toe, giving the pair about two weeks to prepare after Pereira's vacation in Australia was interrupted and Prochazka's was interrupted by a three-day meditation retreat.
Even without McGregor, the fight might have been the most lucrative in UFC history. Among the sellout crowd of 18,881 was New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was seated next to former Green Bay Packers teammate Marcedes Lewis.
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Dana White said he thought the bout between Ian Machado Garry and Michael “Venom” Page at UFC 303 was a draw.
Pereira and Prochazka engaged in a lengthy standoff that lasted through Bruce Buffer's introductions and instructions from umpire Herb Dean.
Both fighters explored each other's reactions in the first round, but there was a strong indication of what was to come at the end of the bout, when Pereira knocked Prochazka down with a left hand after the bell rang, ending the bout at the start of the second round.
The bout was a rematch of a November 11 bout at Madison Square Garden in New York, which Pereira won by technical knockout at 4 minutes and 8 seconds into the second round to win the vacant light heavyweight title.
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Speaking on the MMA Club podcast, Jake Gyllenhaal opened up about working with former UFC champion McGregor on the set of the film Roadhouse.
Pereira then solidified his retention of the belt with a first-round knockout of former titleholder Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 in Las Vegas on April 13. On the same card, Prochazka scored a second-round TKO of Aleksandar Rakic, setting himself up for an earlier-than-expected rematch.
Mayra Bueno Silva (10-4-1) suffered a large cut in her bantamweight bout, and the ring doctor had Macy Chiasson (11-3) stop the bout at 1 minute, 58 seconds into the second round. Blood was streaming from Silva's face, but she asked to continue.
