First Things First

303 will forever be known as the night of legendary last minute replacements. Seriously, the last several weeks have been a shitstorm of fight changes. Let’s look at some of the best action from Saturday, and talk about why this card has historical significance.

UFC 303: Legendary Last Minute Replacements

Most people are well adjusted. They go their whole life not wanting conflict and doing what they can to avoid it. Most people (smartly) go their whole lives without getting into a fight.

Some people hear that another trained fighter needs someone to stand opposite from in a few hours and, upon hearing that, they decide to interrupt their relaxing Saturday massage by getting locked in a cage to fight for money.

This is not a normal occurrence. This is literally the first, and most likely last, time it will happen in the UFC.

Extreme times call for extreme measures, and this card was cursed from the start.

In the early morning hours of June 3rd, the UFC’s Dublin press conference was postponed on one day’s notice. The star of the show, Conor McGregor, had made an another cryptic announcement. Before half the world woke up, rumors were already being cemented.

McGregor was hurt. No, actually, he’s only saying he’s hurt to cover up the fact that he just started stint in rehab. Wait, no - the UFC is saying he’s hurt because they don’t want to acknowledge the fact that he’s flexing his name to get more money.

While the MMA industry speculated on these rumors and more, a small group of people started asking, “What is the final fight card going to look like?”

Originally the card was supposed to feature Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler as the main event with Khalil Rountree and Jamahall Hill in the co-main. After a confusing amount of changes, Alex Pereira was again summoned as a late fill-in to take on Jiří Procházka a second time. The co-main event would be Brian Ortega and budding fan favorite Diego Lopes.

Then on weigh-in day another blow hit the card.

At 4:00 AM on Friday, Lopes’s corner woke him up by telling him to rehydrate. His opponent was not going to finish the weight cut. In all actuality he wouldn’t make it to the fight.

By the time the show was starting, Ortega had officially pulled out. He was sick, unable to fight, and Lopes was left without a dance partner. UFC fighter Dan Ige got wind of this and pleaded his case to UFC management.

When the fight was finally signed, Ige was literally getting a massage to ease his own training ailments. He was midway through a training camp, ready to make the walk. But would the fights deliver?

Technical Takeaways

Diego Lopes Holds On To A Legendary Story

After all of the insane pre fight drama, the fight was still Lopes’s to lose. He was prepared, he made weight, and it was his time.

For the first four minutes, Lopes was edging out a close striking contest. Ige would hit Lopes hard and Lopes would respond with a flurry of hooks before attempting to clinch and land knees. This pattern repeated several times and Lopes was winning on work rate.

To try taking back the round at the end, Ige shot a takedown and Lopes immediately made him regret it.

In the second round Ige landed a flush head kick on Lopes. Lopes ate it and used the ensuing scramble to seal the round. Watch how he takes the back here.

In MMA you often see fighters try to throw the far hook in and lose the back. By doubling up on the one side, Lopes was able to slow Ige’s stand-up, complete the back take and win the round.

The last round was not nearly as pretty for Lopes.

In the third Lopes was noticeably slower. He was waiting on the fence and unable to complete his takedown attempt.

Ige took advantage of Lopes’s lethargy by blasting him with hard punches. It turned out too little too late for Ige and Lopes took the decision. You have to wonder how the weight cutting drama hampered Lopes’s performance.

Not only was he originally scheduled for 145, but his sleep was severely disrupted upon learning Ortega wasn’t going to make it to 145. Ige on the other hand was as fresh as could be.

I’m happy we got this first ever moment. I just hope they were both rewarded well for all of the last minute hiccups.

Towards the beginning of the card was one fighter I’ve had my eye on for awhile.

Tsuruya Scrambles, But Should Start Slowing Down If He Wants To Sustain Success

Last week I put out an in-depth study on undefeated flyweight Rei Tsuruya. I think he is the most interesting prospect in MMA. You can click here to read why.

The 22 year old Japanese wrestler was pulling off artistic attacks for the first ten minutes.

Much of the second round was Tsuruya rolling to the back looking at twisters.

Watching this fight makes me concerned for his development. While Tsuruya was completing crowd pleasing moves, he was ignoring the simplest path to victory.

Tsuruya scrambles like someone that is accustomed to beating up everyone in the gym. He jumps on risky positions because no one has been able to keep up with him and punish him. Yet.

This is going to work until it doesn’t. Right now it looks he has a self-imposed ceiling. If Tsuruya wants to realize the potential everyone sees in him, he would benefit from taking the simple, straightforward path of control.

At the top of the card we got a knockout that might be the signal of a changing of the guard.

Pereira Picks Up Jiří’s Head Movement And Lack Of Guard

Most men don’t want to walk to battle with broken weaponry. Most men (wisely) choose to save themselves to fight another day. Most men are not confident in how they can perform when they’re not at full strength and fear losing a fight they might never get back.

Alex Perieira is not most men.

Pereira took this fight on three weeks notice after breaking his toe in the lead up to his previous fight a few months ago. When he got the call a few weeks ago he was leisurely training while touring the world. He still managed to show up, save UFC 303, and put Jiří Procházka’s lights out with a flawless knockout. This fight even looked better than the first time they fought.

Pereira is known for his killer left hook. That punch is largely responsible for his last win over Jiří and his title defending knock out over Jamahall Hill. This time around Pereira froze Jiří by picking at him from range.

Pereira kicked at Jiří’s legs and body for the entire first round. Calf kicks, front kicks, and round kicks all kept Jiří stuck on the end of his distance.

When Jiří would try to kick back at Pereira, he was just outside of any damage. This Jiří got visibly flustered. When he had enough and tried to rush forward that only got him hurt with punches.

At the end of the first round, Pereira put Jiří down with that trademark left hook.

Pereira wasted no time in the second round. He ran right out to meet Jiří and threw a switch kick past where his hand should have been.

Pereira picked up on the fact that Jiří had no real response for any of his kicks. He would lift his legs to throw and Jiří would just take them.

Undoubtedly expecting Pereira to come forward with his signature left hook or continue tapping in calf kicks, Jiří didn’t even react when Pereira lifted his leg. The he was leaned over Herb Dean struggling to stand.

Pereira’s development this late in his combat sports career is scary. Every time he fights he layers something on top of his blistering offense to find new ways to take people out.

When you take a step back this one card looks like a pivotal piece of UFC history.

Conor McGregor made his name as a man that would take on anyone. He fought Khabib with an injured foot, won an interim title by beating Chad Mendes with an injured knee. He earned notoriety and fortune as a fighter that would take on all comers.

That man does not exist anymore.

He’s closer to a billionaire than the fighter that debuted in the UFC. He doesn’t want, nor need, to take fights injured. 

Looking at how the dust has settled, I can’t help but see something Shakespearean about this whole event.

McGregor pulled out of UFC 303 because of a broken toe. Pereira saved UFC 300 by fighting with a broken toe. He even appeared to have injured it again in knocking out Jiří this weekend at UFC 303!

The shoe is on the other foot. Pereira kicked McGregor off of whatever hype train he was conducting and now Pereira is on his way to being the face of the sport.

This weekend another man whose name is tied to Conor McGregor fights. Nate Diaz is boxing Jorge Masvidal for another monster payday outside of the UFC.

Before that fight, we’re going to take a look at how Diaz built his brand as one of the UFC’s best submission artists. Come back here Friday to read all about it.

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