THE busiest, brightest and arguably number one pound-for-pound champion in the UFC returns to the Octagon in Las Vegas tomorrow night.

After Conor McGregor was forced to postpone his comeback through injury, light-heavyweight king Alex Pereira steps in at just two weeks notice to headline UFC 303.

Former champion Jiri Prochazka will be in the opposing corner at the T-Mobile Arena, just as he was in November when Pereira claimed a second round TKO as well as the 205lb belt.

POATAN

Pereira, 36, has been nothing short of a sensation since focusing on MMA less than three years ago.

After debuting with the UFC in November 2021, the Glory kickboxing standout has had eight fights inside the Octagon, beating five UFC champions and winning belts in two weight classes.

His seven wins include five knockouts and whilst he both won and lost the middleweight crown to old kickboxing foe Israel Adesanya, it took him just seven months to move up and claim gold at light-heavy.

Since climbing to the top of the 205lb summit, he’s also already made a successful defence against former champ Jamahal Hill in April, when he scored a viral first round knockout at UFC 300.

Cool, calm and collected in everything he does. Pereira is an apex predator in fight sports, with KO power in every limb and a frightening ability to weather pressure before taking his opponent out.

CZECH SAMURAI

Prochazka, 31, is a unique martial artist. He lives a solitary life in the woods on the outskirts of Brno, Czech Republic’s second city.

His rapid rise in the UFC has been as impressive as the Brazilian’s, but his background is firmly fixed in MMA after he debuted in the sport in 2012.

Jiri built a reputation as a marquee fighter and finisher in Japan before singing for the UFC in 2020. After consecutive second round knockouts, he challenged Glover Teixeira for the belt in the summer of 2022 – submitting the Brazilian BJJ black belt in the final round.

But after his title reign was ended due to injury he forced to give up the belt and take 18 months away to recuperate.

His first fight back was November’s ill-fated loss to Pereira, but he bounced back from that setback in April – also at UFC 300 – by stopping Euro rival Aleksander Rakic in two rounds.

REVENGE OR REPEAT?

With a stoppage win still fresh in the mind, Pereira (10-2) will surely start as favourite, especially having been behind in the first fight but ultimately riding the Prochazka storm to score a devastating elbows KO.

But the Czech Samurai (30-4-1) was indeed in the ascendancy in the contest before, he would argue, making a mistake and allowing Pereira to capitalise with counters.

This time Jiri comes in far fresher and far more active than he was last year and, skill for skill, he’s definitely got the advantage boasting a much more prolific ground game than the new champ.

Yet whilst he may have a hole in his all-round skillset, the big fight mentality and unmatched striking abilities harboured by Pereira simply cannot be overlooked.

‘Poatan’ is the hottest fighter in MMA right now and whilst I expect him to have to ride some rocky moments in the rematch, ultimately his striking prowess will get him out of jail down the stretch and render Prochazka unconscious.

TIP: Pereira by KO 4-5

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