Alex Pereira stepped in on short notice at UFC 303 and defended his UFC light heavyweight title with a violent finish in a rematch against Jiri Prochazka.
Pereira agreed to the rematch after the original UFC 303 main event between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler was canceled due to an injury to McGregor. He then closed the show by stopping Prochazka to retain his belt.
The champion’s schedule is not slowing down. Pereira is now set to move up in weight to face Ciryl Gane in an interim heavyweight title bout, which is booked as the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House in Washington.
Pereira enters that matchup with a 13-3 professional MMA record, including 10-2 in the UFC, while Gane holds a 13-2 professional mark with the same 10-2 UFC slate. Pereira aims to become the first fighter to win three UFC belts in three different divisions.
