Oddsmakers were busy Thursday night after learning about Conor McGregor’s comeback cancelation and the subsequent overhaul of the upcoming UFC 303 pay-per-view (PPV) card going down on June 29 live on ESPN+ from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With McGregor no longer headlining the International Fight Week card opposite Michael Chandler, the promotion needed to scramble to turn water into wine. Luckily, Alex Pereira was available and agreed to step in on two weeks notice to defend his UFC light heavyweight title in a rematch against former champion Jiri Prochazka. While it might not be a Conor McGregor fight, pulling off Pereira vs. Prochazka 2 in this timeframe is simply astonishing. It was one of the bigger fights out there.
Luckily, the changes didn’t stop there. The promotion knew they would need another banger to add to a revamped UFC 303 main card, which is why a featherweight scrap between former UFC title challenger Brian Ortega and red-hot contender Diego Lopes was booked as well. Lopes is coming off sensational wins at UFC 295 and UFC 300 so this will be another chance for him to build his stock and push towards a title shot sooner rather than later.
Finally, a co-main event scrap between former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and rising knockout artist Carlos Ulberg was scratched from UFC 303’s PPV card. Instead, Ulberg will now fight former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith, who is coming off an upset submission win over Vitor Petrino at UFC 301 this past May.
With so many changes to UFC 303’s lineup, oddsmakers worked fast to update some of the key betting lines. Check out some of the updated odds below (via Bet Online as of 6/14/24):
Alex Pereira (-165)
Jiri Prochazka (+145)Brian Ortega (+125)
Diego Lopes (-145)Anthony Smith (+385)
Carlos Ulberg (-500)
For complete UFC 303 fight card news and coverage click HERE.