- 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.
Alex Pereira retained his light heavyweight UFC title in style after defeating Jiri Prochazka
Pereira delivered an explosive kick to the head in the second round, knocking down his rival
The referee jumped in after Pereira followed the kick up with a flurry of blows on the canvas
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.’
Kickboxing great Pereira became a two-weight UFC champion within two years of joining the promotion and KO’d Prochazka last November to win the 205lb belt and become a two-weight world champion – having previously held the 185lb title.
His victory in the early hours of Sunday morning marked his second successful title defence after he knocked out Jamahal Hill, another former champion, in April.
The co-main event saw Dan Ige lose out to Diego Lopes via decision.
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