The June 29 card at T-Mobile Arena caps off the 12th annual International Fight Week. UFC X, Hall Of Fame Inductions, and so on happen in the important week, holding great significance. However, the UFC 303 PPV lost its main event with Conor McGregor. While nothing quite has the atmosphere like the return of ‘Mac,’ another rising name is fast superseding ‘The Notorious.’ That name is Alex Pereira.
McGregor withdrew his fight against Michael Chandler this past week due to an undisclosed injury. However, when there’s one dual-division champion, there’s usually another. Now, Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka’s rematch serves as the feature headliner at UFC 303. On the latest episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy, legends Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen weighed in on the star-power changes:
Could you imagine the money he’s making; he says yes to everything… Headlined Madison Square Garden twice, headlined UFC 300 which was a monster, …steps in again on short notice for UFC 303…Now, it will always be hard to top Conor McGregor in regards to star power. You still got Israel Adesanya, you still got Jon Jones but when I think about the face of the company – Pereira…
Daniel Cormier via the Good Guy/Bad Guy Show (@ESPNMMA/ESPNPodcenter)
The duo showed that Pereira’s global star appeal isn’t just a facet of his success. It’s quickly tuning itself to be a strong marketing point for the UFC. ‘Poatan’ is now a Connecticut local with a hot 3-0 streak at house shows in the Madison Square Garden Arena. Two of which were title fights. He also broke Conor McGregor’s record of three-and-half years, achieving double-division gold the fastest.
Additionally, Pereira faced former champ Jamahal Hill and starched him with a first-round knockout in April’s historic UFC 300 headliner. The willingness to pitch in whenever, the mythical aura of his Pataxó Brazilian origins, and the stone hand capable of wobbling anybody with a slight left. remains remarkable. As such, Pereira remains on the right trajectory to be the greatest sports icon of modern times.
Unprecedented Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira: Is UFC 303 better than before?
During the recent Good Guy/Bad Guy segment, a counter came up that superstars like Sean O’Malley are a closer bet to resemble Conor McGregor than Pereira. ‘Suga’ has long maintained a huge neo-fandom following even before holding undisputed bantamweight gold. However, the Brazilian knockout artist has more things working in his favor.
Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira steps up to the plate with quite a record (Source: X/heavy.com)The massive April trifecta PPV event made a live gate of $16.5 million, the third highest-grossing UFC event ever. According to UFC Analytics, it made a record attendance of 20,067 at T-Mobile Arena, and Pereira headlined the card.
Further, considering his MSG appearances, he is a prime draw at many other locales. The card, with Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira as the feature top bill, was so ginormous that even UFC PPV Prelims viewership skyrocketed. It was the most watched ever across ESPN platforms (ESPN+, Hulu SVOD, ESPN & ESPN Deportes).
Conor McGregor’s last fight was on July 10, 2021. Pereira wasn’t even on the roster back then (signing on Sept. 3, 2021). He has become a two-division GLORY and UFC titleholder in that short time. The champion is now 10-2 in MMA and 7-1 in the UFC, with his last five victories coming over former championships.
UFC legend Chael Sonnen also backtracks that should he commit to a move to heavyweight; he’ll be a greater G.O.A.T candidate than any other name. All in all, UFC 303 seems to be in better hands with Pereira around the massive changes.
