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UFC 303 pre-event facts: Inside the numbers of Alex Pereira's remarkable run

It’s been a wild ride to get here, but finally the 12th annual International Fight Week is upon us. UFC 303 serves as the cornerstone of the festivities, and it’s set to go down at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with a main card on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

After various adjustments, the headliner of the card will see a rematch for the light heavyweight title. Alex Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) attempts to make the second defense of his reign against former champ Jiri Prochazka (30-4-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who he defeated by second-round TKO in their initial meeting at UFC 295 in November.

For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC 303.

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Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka

Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira

Pereira is one of nine fighters in history to win titles in two weight classes. Randy Couture, B.J. Penn, Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, Amanda Nunes and Jon Jones accomplished the feat.

Pereira’s 11 MMA fights before becoming a two-division champion are the fewest in company history.

Pereira’s seven UFC fights to become a two-division champion are the fewest in company history.

Pereira’s eight MMA fights before becoming UFC champion is the second-fewest in modern history behind Brock Lesnar’s four.

Pereira is 3-0 since he moved up to the light heavyweight division in July 2023.

Pereira has earned seven of his nine career victories by stoppage. He’s finished all of those wins by knockout.

Pereira lands 62.8 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC competition, the second-highest rate among active fighters in the company behind Tatiana Suarez (64 percent).

Jiri Prochazka

Jiri Prochazka

Prochazka has earned 29 of his 30 career victories by stoppage, including all four of his UFC wins.

Prochazka’s victory at the 4:32 mark of Round 5 marked the second-latest finish in UFC championship fight behind Demetrious Johnson’s win over Kyoji Horiguchi at 4:59 of Round 5 at UFC 186.

Prochazka is one of six fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back elbow. Molly McCann, Ricardo Ramos, Dong Hyun Kim, Uros Medic and Brunno Ferreira also accomplished the feat.

Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes

Brian Ortega

Brian Ortega

Brian Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) has earned 10 of his 16 career victories by stoppage. That includes seven of his eight UFC wins.

Ortega’s seven stoppage victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied with Ricardo Lamas for second-most in divisional history behind Max Holloway (11).

Ortega’s four submission victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Charles Oliveira (six).

Ortega is the only fighter in UFC history to earn four consecutive third-round stoppage victories.

Diego Lopes

Diego Lopes

Diego Lopes (23-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned 21 of his 23 career victories by stoppage. That includes all three of his UFC wins.

Lopes has earned his three UFC victories by first-round stoppage in a total fight time of 4 minutes and 37 seconds.

Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze

Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith (38-19 MMA, 13-9 UFC) is 9-6 since he moved up to the UFC light-heavyweight division in June 2018.

Smith is 13-8 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2016. He’s 19-5 since he was first released from the promotion in June 2013.

Smith has earned 35 of his 38 career victories by stoppage. That includes 12 of his 14 UFC wins.

Smith’s five submission victories in UFC light heavyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Glover Teixeira (seven) and Paul Craig (six).

Roman Dolidze

Roman Dolidze

Roman Dolidze (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) returns to the light heavyweight division for the first time since December 2020. He’s 2-0 under the UFC banner in the weight class.

Dolidze enters the event on the first two-fight losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since December 2022.

Dolidze has earned 10 of his 12 career victories by stoppage. He’s earned all four of his UFC finishes by knockout.

Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Macy Chiasson

Mayra Bueno Silva

Mayra Bueno Silva’s (10-3-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) two submission victories in UFC women’s bantamweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Ronda Rousey (three).

Silva earned the first kneebar submission victory in UFC women’s bantamweight history at UFC Fight Night 219.

Macy Chiasson (9-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) absorbs just 2.0 significant strikes per minute in UFC women’s bantamweight competition, the tied with Germaine de Randamie for the best rate among active fighters in the weight class.

Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael Page

Ian Machado Garry

Ian Machado Garry’s (14-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) seven-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is tied with Jack Della Maddalena for the longest active streak in the division.

Garry lands 55.7 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the second-highest rate in divisional history behind Gunnar Nelson (60.5 percent).

Michael Page (22-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was successful in his promotional debut at UFC 299 in March following a 19-fight Bellator stint where he went 17-2.

Joe Pyfer vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

Marc-Andre Barriault

Marc-Andre Barriault’s (16-7 MMA, 5-6 UFC) victory at the 4:56 mark of Round 3 at UFC 260 marked the second latest stoppage in UFC middleweight history behind Garreth McLellan (4:58, Round 3) at UFC Fight Night 76.

Cub Swanson vs. Andre Fili

Cub Swanson

Cub Swanson (29-13 MMA, 14-9 UFC) competes in his 31st UFC/WEC featherweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.

Swanson’s 19 victories in UFC/WEC featherweight competition are second-most in combined divisional history behind Holloway (20).

Swanson’s 14 victories in UFC featherweight competition are third-most in divisional history behind Holloway (20) and Darren Elkins (17).

Swanson’s eight stoppage victories in UFC/WEC featherweight competition are third most in the combined divisional history behind Jose Aldo (11) and Holloway (11).

Swanson’s six knockout victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Holloway (nine).

Swanson’s 13 fight-night bonuses for UFC/WEC featherweight bouts are the most in combined divisional history.

Swanson’s nine fight-night bonuses for UFC featherweight bouts are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Holloway (10).

Andre Fili (23-11 MMA, 11-10 UFC) competes in his 23rd UFC featherweight bout, tied with Swanson for the third-most appearances in divisional history behind Elkins (26) and Holloway (26).

Fili has earned 11 victories in UFC featherweight competition, tied for the fourth-most in divisional history behind Holloway (20), Elkins (17) and Swanson (14).

Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs. Gillian Robertson

Michelle Waterson-Gomez

Michelle Waterson-Gomez (18-12 MMA, 6-8 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since September 2020.

Waterson-Gomez is 1-6 in her past seven fights dating back to October 2019.

Gillian Robertson (13-8 MMA, 10-6 UFC) is 2-1 since she dropped to the UFC strawweight division in April 2023.

Robertson’s eight victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Valentina Shevchenko (nine) and Katlyn Cerminara (nine).

Robertson’s seven stoppage victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Robertson’s seven submission victories in UFC competition are most by any female in company history.

Robertson’s six submission victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Andrei Arlovski vs. Martin Buday

Andrei Arlovski

Andrei Arlovski (34-23 MMA, 23-17 UFC) competes in his 42nd UFC bout, the most in heavyweight history and second-most appearances in company history behind Jim Miller (44).

Arlovski is 13-13 (with one no contest) since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in June 2014.

Arlovski’s 23 victories in UFC competition are tied with Donald Cerrone for second-most is company history behind Miller (25).

Arlovski’s 23 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Arlovski’s total fight time of 6:34:58 in UFC heavyweight competition is the most in divisional history.

Arlovski’s 11 stoppage victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Derrick Lewis (15) and Frank Mir (13).

Arlovski’s 10 knockdowns landed in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Junior Dos Santos (14).

Arlovski’s 12 decision victories in UFC heavyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Arlovski landed 152 significant strikes at UFC on ESPN 4, the single-fight record for a three-round UFC heavyweight bout.

Arlovski’s 10 knockout losses in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition are second-most in combined organizational history behind Alistair Overeem (13).

Arlovski’s 17 losses in UFC competition are tied for third-most in company history behind Jeremy Stephens (18) and Clay Guida (18).

Ricky Simon vs. Vinicius Oliveira

Ricky Simon

Ricky Simon (20-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has landed 41 takedowns in UFC bantamweight competition, the second most in divisional history behind Merab Dvalishvili (66).

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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