UFC 303: 5 Preliminary Fights to Watch

UFC 303 will be headlined by a light heavyweight championship rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka. Pereira will look to make it 2-0 against Prochazka while Prochazka, the former champion, will look to avenge his TKO loss.

The card, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, was originally supposed to feature the return of Conor McGregor against Michael Chandler. McGregor, sidelined since July 2021 after suffering a broken ankle against Dustin Poirier, injured his foot, and the fight was canceled.

Featherweight title contenders Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes will throw down in the co-main event in what should be an exciting fight between two jiu-jitsu specialists.

The rest of the UFC 303 main card is rounded out by Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze, Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Macy Chiasson, and Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael “Venom” Page.

The UFC 303 preliminary card features some great match-ups to set up the main card action. Here are five fights you should catch.

Joe Pyfer vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

Pyfer is looking to rebound from his first UFC loss, when he fought Jack Hermansson, the No. 9-ranked middleweight, in what was a fast-track fight. Pyfer’s three wins in the UFC came over solid competition in Abdul Razak Alhassan, Gerald Meerschaert and Alen Amedovski. The heavy-handed Pyfer will look to earn another top-15 match-up by taking on Barriault.

Barriault brings a gritty, workman-like style to the middleweight division, depleting his opponent’s gas tank over 15 minutes or less. “Powerbar” is a tough out for anyone. He has wins over Eryk Anders, Julian Marquez and Jordan Wright, all of whom have finishing ability. Barriault finished two of those fights, as well as Abu Azaitar for his first official UFC win.

Barriault will be an excellent gauge to see where Pyfer is at following his first UFC loss. The winner could easily find himself in a top-15 showdown next, making this a vital bout for both men.

Cub Swanson vs. Andre Fili

Longtime UFC veterans Swanson and Fili meet in what should be a high-paced featherweight affair. Swanson (25) and Fili (22) have 47 UFC bouts between them.

Swanson, 40, has faced a murderer’s row in the UFC, having gone up against legends like Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, and Frankie Edgar – beating Oliveira and Poirier. Even in the twilight of his career, Swanson has turned away prospects like Hakeem Dawodu and Kron Gracie. It’s unfathomable that his Fight of the Year contender win over Doo Ho Choi was seven-and-a-half years ago. Even then, people saw it as an old-guard vs. new-guard fight. Swanson has proven his longevity time and again.

And yet, Fili, 34, has stepped into the Octagon only three less times than “Killer Cub.” Fili’s record includes wins over Lucas Almeida, Bill Algeo, Charles Jourdain, Dennis Bermudez, Artem Lobov, Hacran Dias, and Gabriel Benitez.

Swanson has the bigger names on his resume, but Fili comes in six years younger than Swanson.

Charles Jourdain vs. Jean Silva

Jourdain, a 13-UFC fight veteran, will take on Silva, making his sophomore UFC appearance in a very similar dynamic to Simon vs. Oliveira down below. The UFC thinks it has something in Silva, fast-tracking him to take on a tough veteran who can finish a fight anywhere.

Silva TKO’d Westin Wilson in the first round of his UFC debut, putting him on the map in emphatic fashion.

Jourdain has seen many different styles in his 23-fight professional career. “Air” Jourdain has defeated the likes of Ricardo Ramas, Lando Vannata and Kron Gracie and gone up against Sean Woodson, Nathaniel Wood, Shane Burgos and Julian Erosa.

Jourdain has finished all but two of his 15 pro wins, while Silva has finished all but one of his 12 – nine by T/KO. This featherweight fight could be a lot of fun, especially if it stays standing.

Payton Talbott vs. Yanis Ghemmouri

Outside of Ian Machado Garry, who is well into the top 10 at welterweight, Talbott is the most intriguing blue-chip prospect on the card. The 8-0 bantamweight is set to take on France’s Ghemmouri. Talbott followed up his UFC debut rear naked choke over Nick Aguirre with a TKO over a fellow top prospect in Cameron Saaiman.

Talbott has finished all but one of his victories. Ghemmouri is a well-rounded fighter, winning three by T/KO, four by submission and five by decision. Talbott enters as a huge favorite, however, and the expectation is that he gets past Ghemmouri, who will look to play spoiler in a major way.

The fight is worth watching to see if Talbott continues to add skills to his tool box or if Ghemmouri can upset the apple cart.

Ricky Simon vs. Vinicius Oliveira

Scheduled as the UFC 303 opener, fans are getting a banger off the bat. Simon is looking to snap a two-fight skid against the upstart Oliveira, who KO’d Benardo Sopaj with a flying knee in his UFC debut. The UFC clearly sees something in Oliveira, as they are giving him 12-fight Octagon veteran Simon in just his sophomore outing.

Simon has been in there with some of the best at bantamweight: He has wins over Merab Dvalishvili, Jack Shore, Raphael Assuncao, Brian Kelleher, Ray Borg, Rani Yahya and Montel Jackson, to name a handful.

Simon is a well-rounded fighter who pushes the pace, while 16 of Oliveira’s 20 wins have come via T/KO. It is a very intriguing stylistic match-up, as Simon has the experience edge, but Oliveira is dangerous in the standup. Simon has more to lose in this fight while Oliveira has everything to gain.

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