Pereira vs. Prochazka 2 Main Map Staff Choices

Somehow, Conor McGregor’s withdrawal from UFC 303 made the card even more important than it already was.

With apologies to Michael Chandler, who is still waiting for his so-called “red panty night,” the promotion managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat and avert almost certain disaster when it secured a light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka stated. Then, with Khalil Rountree Jr. and Jamahal Hill also off the agenda, the UFC buffered that main event rematch with Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes on short notice.

McGregor may be the biggest draw in the sport, but as a one-two punch, the new UFC 303 card toppers are far more relevant to their respective divisions. And no one could have predicted the crazy buildup to Pereira vs. Prochazka 2, which has seen Jiri accuse “Poatan” of using black magic of some form and shamans (literally, he said shamans) to aid in his fights.

No, they don’t test UFC fighters for magic. Maybe they should. In the meantime, our staff is hoping their picks are magical on fight night. Check out how we think the UFC 303 main card will play out below.

Despite not having a unanimous choice for the UFC 303 card, there was still a landslide in terms of support for one fighter. That would be Ian Machado Garry, with only one dissenting vote going in favor of former Bellator MMA star Michael “Venom” Page, who is coming off a decision win over Kevin Holland in his promotional debut back in March.

Well, Garry is undefeated for a reason, so maybe that’s not so surprising. The fight should be a fun mix of flashy skill and technique, however long it lasts.

Our staff was much more divided over the remaining matches, though Alex Pereira is favored to win the evening’s main event, and Diego Lopes is somewhat surprisingly expected to take the honor from Brian Ortega.