- Alex Pereira dropped his opponent with the head kick in the second round
- Both fighters traded blows before Pereira’s brutal KO saw him retain his belt
- They were forced to step in as the main event due to Conor McGregor’s injury
Alex Pereira delivered a jaw-dropping head kick KO to beat Jiri Prochazka and retain his light heavyweight title in explosive style at UFC 303.
Pereira dropped his opponent to the canvas with a left head kick just seconds into round two before pouncing on him and battering him with follow-up strikes.
The referee then jumped in to stop the fight in Las Vegas.
Pereira and Prochazka stepped in as the main event at the T-Mobile Arena after Conor McGregor was forced to delay his long-awaited UFC return, a broken toe pushing back his showdown against Michael Chandler to September 17.
But despite being given just two weeks’ notice, the two fighters delivered a brutal showing, trading strikes in the opening round in front of a captivated crowd.
Pereira found joy through landing leg kicks while Prochazka threatened with the left hook – before the latter was sent crashing down at the end of the round.
The victor, smelling blood, wasted little time in defending his belt and unleashed a violent kick to the head that, once again, sent Prochazka to the floor.
‘I didn’t know how I was going to win, but I knew I was going to leave this Octagon happy,’ Pereira later said via an interpreter.
Now targeting a championship in a third weight class, he added: ‘I think that’s in my future. I say it a lot. I’m here, I’m available and I think that’s in my future.’
More to follow.
