Alex Pereira came to the rescue of the devastated UFC 303 card, as Conor McGregor had to pull out of the match due to his leg injury. The former dual-weight champion’s comeback hopes ended after the cancellation of the press conference. When everything seemed dim for the UFC and the MMA community, Pereira stepped in, and will now lock horns with Jiri Prochazka to defend his light heavyweight title.

Well, it was nice for ‘Poatan’ to save the card and the UFC will be rewarding him handsomely as well. Nonetheless, a recent YouTube video shared by ‘Poatan’ on his channel revealed what actually transpired and how the UFC approached him to take the match on June 29th.

Alex Pereira shares his first reaction about fighting at UFC 303

The month of June has been nothing but a rollercoaster ride for the promotion.  Conor McGregor’s absence dampened the stardom of the card but it was saved by the light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, who took the fight with just 15 days’ notice. Dana White‘s war room has done some miracles in the past and this seems to continue now as well.

Regardless, Alex Pereira in his latest confession on his YouTube Handle, stated that he shared a pretty good relationship with the top brass of the promotion, and when the card fell off the first thing they did was to call him to ask him for his fight. “To be sincere, I didn’t even think of it like that: “There is no one. I will give my price and they have to accept.” I think we have a good relationship with the organization, so I threw out there what I deserve,” said Pereira.

He further added, “I don’t think they thought the same way: “Damn, who am I going to put now? Damn, we’ve got to pay this.” I don’t know if they had another option to put in that spot. They wouldn’t accept what we negotiated. I think it was good for both parties. Like I said, we have a good relationship. I’ve been doing my job correctly and never gave trouble to the UFC, so I think they value that.”

Alex ͏Pereira and Jiri Prochaza had hin͏ted abou͏t their upc͏oming c͏lash recen͏t͏ly, but͏ they ͏had not͏ reve͏aled a d͏ate for the fi͏ght. On the other hand, White might have ͏known that McGregor’s injury might lead to him pulling out and kept both light ͏heavywei͏ghts on standby. Regardless, let’s have a look at the detailed look at Pereira and Prochazka.

The Pereira-Jiri Prochazka saga

This will be the second the duo will be facing each other. Their initial clash happened back at UFC 295 when the light heavyweight title was vacant. Then, Alex Pereira defeated Jiri Prochazka to clinch the victory with a knockout as he threw a beautiful left hook combination that caught Prochazka off-guard. The victory was controversial as well, with many from the MMA community believing that this was an early stoppage by the referee.

Now, Jiri Prochazka has a professional record of 30 fights and 4 defeats, while Pereira has a record of 10 victories and 2 defeats. The numbers might favor Prochazka, but it must be noted that Pereira was a world-renowned kickboxer before starting his MMA career. Both Pereira and Prochazka are strikers who win matches by knockouts. Pereira has an 80% knockout rate, while Prochazka has an 87% knockout rate.

This rematch will be much more intriguing as the Czech samurai might be looking for an act of revenge against his nemesis. What’s your take on their fight? Do you think Alex Pereira will be able to defend his belt or will it be a victorious Prochazka that steals the honors? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.