Cursed UFC 303 card: Conor McGregor and Alex Pereira suffer same fate, Jiri Prochazka's demons, last-second fight changes, botched weight cuts, more

The UFC 303 (June 29, 2024) event was one of the most highly-anticipated fight cards in recent history. It was set to witness the comeback of combat sports megastar Conor McGregor after an injury-induced hiatus that dates back to July 2021. McGregor was scheduled to face Michael Chandler in a welterweight bout, which was booked as the headlining match of UFC 303.

The card also featured multiple other exciting matchups such as Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree and Ian Garry vs. Michael 'Venom' Page. Until a few weeks back, everything seemed to be on the right track. Nevertheless, speculation abounded that McGregor had been injured and wouldn't compete.

Those injury rumors were fueled by the fact that a special McGregor-Chandler UFC 303 press conference in Dublin, Ireland, which was to take place on June 3, was canceled. On June 13, things took a turn for the worse, as it was announced that McGregor had suffered an injury and his fight against Chandler won't take place at UFC 303.

While McGregor's injury and the fight falling off the UFC 303 card was a huge setback for the UFC and fans alike, UFC CEO Dana White and the organization announced an exciting rematch as the event's new headliner.

It was revealed that UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka had agreed to step in on short notice to fight one another in the UFC 303 headlining bout.

However, that wasn't the only change on the card -- a card marked by chaos, a card that some might call cursed.

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Alex Pereira and Conor McGregor suffered the same fate

The specifics of Conor McGregor's injury were initially undisclosed, but the Irishman eventually revealed that it was a toe injury that forced him to withdraw from the Michael Chandler matchup. The consensus is that the McGregor-Chandler fight could be rescheduled to take place later this year, potentially at UFC 306 (Sept. 14, 2024) at the world-renowned Las Vegas Sphere.

Dana White has suggested that he won't officially announce McGregor's exact comeback date until the former two-division champion is completely healed and ready to return. Ergo, it's unconfirmed as to when 'The Notorious' will return.

Oddly enough, Alex Pereira, who went on to successfully defend his UFC light heavyweight title by beating Jiri Prochazka via second-round TKO at UFC 303, ended up hurting his toe. McGregor broke a toe on his left leg during a training session. Meanwhile, 'Poatan' also broke a toe on his left leg, albeit not in training but courtesy of the thunderous head kick he landed on Prochazka in their rematch.

Intriguingly, Pereira previously entered his UFC 300 fight against Jamahal Hill with a broken toe. He suffered another toe injury mid-fight but beat Hill via first-round KO.

Watch Pereira attempt to pop the dislocated toe back in place at around 0:40 below:

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Jiri Prochazka has to face his demons again

Jiri Prochazka is a unique enigma in the sport of MMA. The inaugural and former Rizin light heavyweight champion and a former UFC light heavyweight kingpin, he's fondly referred to as 'The Czech Samurai.' He hails from the Czech Republic but has time and again spoken about his close connection with the Samurai culture of Japan.

Many believe that his time in Rizin FF further encouraged him to broaden the horizons of his knowledge about the Bushido Code and the Samurai culture as a cohesive unit. 'BJP' studied the revered literary work, 'The Book of Five Rings,' by legendary Japanese Samurai and martial artist Miyamoto Musashi.

Among many of the old-school Samurai training techniques used by Prochazka, one that piqued fan interest was his three-day stay in a dark room, a test of sensory deprivation to improve himself. He occasionally stays in the darkness sans food. Just relying on water and with little sense of time, he meditates and faces his demons.

After suffering a TKO defeat against 205-pound rival Alex Pereira again, one can only imagine how challenging it'd be for the talented 31-year-old Czech fighter to rebuild himself. Blame it on the cursed UFC 303 card or on Pereira's otherworldly KO power, Prochazka now has to face his demons again. For his part, he's vowed to evolve or never fight again.

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Multiple card changes and botched weight cuts hurt UFC 303

The Conor McGregor-Michael Chandler welterweight bout was taken off the UFC 303 card. On the other hand, the much-awaited Jamahal Hill-Khalil Rountree light heavyweight bout, too, suffered a blow when Rountree withdrew due to a drug testing issue. Apparently, he'd used a tainted supplement, informed the authorities about the same, and received a two-month suspension.

The UFC booked Carlos Ulberg to fight Hill, but the latter withdrew due to a knee injury. Anthony Smith replaced Hill and was set to compete in the match, but Ulberg pulled out due to an injury. In the end, Roman Dolidze fought Smith at the event and won via unanimous decision.

Moreover, the Cody Durden-Carlos Hernandez bout saw Durden be replaced by Rei Tsuruya, who defeated Hernandez via unanimous decision at UFC 303. The card was shaken by botched weight cuts as well. Jean Silva weighed in at 147.5 pounds, which was 1.5 pounds over the non-title featherweight bout limit.

Silva's fight against Charles Jourdain changed from a featherweight to a catchweight bout and he beat Jourdain via second-round KO. Regardless, 20 percent of his fight purse went to Jourdain due to the weight miss.

Furthermore, the Brian Ortega-Diego Lopes featherweight bout, which was added to the card earlier this month, saw Ortega struggle to make weight. 'T-City' reportedly requested that the bout be shifted to lightweight, and Lopes agreed. The fight still didn't go ahead, as Ortega fell ill on the day of the fight, and the UFC brought in Dan Ige to fight Lopes in a 165-pound catchweight bout.

Ultimately, Lopes beat Ige via unanimous decision. Ortega wasn't the only one who fell ill. Joe Pyfer had an allergic reaction after inadvertently consuming flaxseeds, which he's allergic to, on fight day. He almost missed his middleweight bout against Marc-Andre Barriault. Thankfully, Pyfer was aided by medication. He faced and beat Barriault via first-round KO.

In addition, the much-hyped fight between two of the most exciting strikers in MMA today, Ian Machado Garry and Michael 'Venom' Page, ended up being an underwhelming affair that Garry won via unanimous decision. Of course, another notable occurrence was a gruesome cut that brought Mayra Bueno Silva's fight against Macy Chiasson to a premature end.

Fan-favorite veterans such as Cub Swanson, Andrei Arlovski, and Michelle Waterson-Gomez ended up losing on the judges' scorecards. 'The Karate Hottie,' who's long been every striking fan and karateka's inspiration in the UFC, signaled the end of her MMA career in an emotional post-fight octagon interview.

Cursed or not, the UFC 303 event was exciting and entertaining to watch. though it'd have been even better with Conor McGregor's unparalleled star power and unmatched presence. 'The Notorious' recently admitted that he was in "deep mental pain" in the wake of his UFC 303 withdrawal but is eyeing a triumphant return. Here's hoping 'Mystic Mac' is right.