- Alex Pereira knocked down his opponent with a head kick in the second round.
- Both fighters exchanged blows before Pereira’s brutal KO allowed him to retain his belt.
- They were forced to step in as the main event due to Conor McGregor’s injury.
Alex Pereira delivered a stunning head kick knockout to defeat Jiri Prochazka and retain his light heavyweight title in explosive style at UFC 303.
Pereira dropped his opponent to the canvas with a left kick to the head just seconds into the second round before lunging at him and pummeling him with subsequent punches.
The referee then intervened to stop the fight in Las Vegas.
Pereira and Prochazka stepped in as the main event at T-Mobile Arena after Conor McGregor was forced to delay his long-awaited return to the UFC, a broken toe delaying his showdown against Michael Chandler until September 17.
But despite only two weeks’ notice, the two fighters put in a brutal performance, trading blows in the first round in front of a captivated crowd.
Alex Pereira retained his UFC light heavyweight title in style after defeating Jiri Prochazka
Pereira landed an explosive head kick in the second round, knocking his opponent down.
The referee intervened after Pereira followed the kick with a flurry of punches to the canvas.
Pereira found joy in landing leg kicks while Prochazka threatened with a left hook, before the latter went down at the end of the round.
The victor, smelling blood, wasted little time defending his belt and unleashed a violent kick to the head that, once again, sent Prochazka to the ground.
“I didn’t know how I was going to win, but I knew I was going to leave this Octagon happy,” Pereira said later through an interpreter.
Now aiming for a championship in a third weight class, he added: “I think that’s in my future. I say that a lot. I’m here, I’m available and I think that’s in my future.”
Kickboxing great Pereira became a two-weight UFC champion within two years of joining the promotion and knocked out Prochazka last November to win the 205-pound belt and become a two-weight world champion, having previously held the 185-pound title.
His victory in the early hours of Sunday morning marked his second successful title defense after knocking out Jamahal Hill, another former champion, in April.
In the co-main event, Dan Ige lost to Diego Lopes by decision.