Alex Poatan Pereira defeated Use Prochazka by knockout in the rematch between the two, at UFC 303, on Saturday night (29), and retained his light heavyweight belt.
The fight started with striking, with the Brazilian taking more risks with low kicks; the Czech responded with a few blows. Little by little, Poatan also invested in crosses and slightly higher kicks, until he was pressed against the cage by Jiri.
Pereira managed to escape Prochazka’s control and knocked him down with a left cross, but the Czech was saved from a first-round knockout by the running of the timer.
Right at the beginning of the second round, Poatan wasted no time and continued his attempt at a knockout, knocking Jiri down in 13 seconds with a high kick.
With a sequence of punches on the ground, the São Paulo native, once again, knocked out Prochazka and retained the light heavyweight title; the public at the T-Mobile Arena went crazy with the Brazilian’s new victory.
At the end of the fight, Alex spoke again about moving up to the heavyweight category and even asked for the night’s bonus because of his performance — the Brazilian never received the US$50,000 prize (R$275,000 in current terms). quotation) before.
Poatan also became the first Brazilian to perform and win two title defenses in the light heavyweight category.
Poatan defends belt for the second time
This was Alex Poatan’s second title defense since winning it in November last year, precisely when he disputed it with former champion Jiri Prochazka.
His first defense took place in April, at UFC 303. On that occasion, the Brazilian knocked out Jamahal Hill at the beginning of the first round and remained champion of the light heavyweight division.
Still with the title in hand, Pereira already has a next name to face on his list, if he remains in the category: Magomed Ankalaev, who is currently second in the ranking.