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UFC 303 News: Co-Main Event Fight Faces Major Change on Weigh-In Day

UFC 303 has been hit with another alteration the day before the event.

Drew Beaupre

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Already taking place on short notice, the UFC 303 co-main event between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes has undergone a significant change on weigh-in day.

UFC 303: Alex Pereira vs. Jiří Procházka 2 Weigh-In Live Stream Results

Ortega vs. Lopes Changed to Lightweight Bout

UFC 303 takes place this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV and was supposed to see Conor McGregor return to the Octagon to face Michael Chandler, but after a broken toe pulled “The Notorious” from the card the UFC acted quickly to book a new main and co-main event.

The new main event will see Alex Pereira and Jiří Procházka meet for the second time with Pereira’s light heavyweight belt on the line. Top featherweights Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes are slated to meet in the co-main event, but just before weigh-ins kicked off Jon Anik announced that their matchup had been changed to a lightweight bout.

UFC 303 News: Co-Main Event Fight Faces Major Change on Weigh-In Day
Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Diego Lopes during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The news of the weight class change was extremely unexpected considering it came just a day before UFC 303 takes place, and following Anik’s announcement Ariel Helwani reported that Ortega was preparing to move up to lightweight later this year and realized late last night that he wouldn’t be able to make the featherweight limit after taking this fight on short notice.

Lopes’ camp was contacted at 3:30 a.m. on the day of weigh-ins regarding Ortega’s cut, and Helwani also reported that the choice for Lopes was to either accept a lightweight matchup with “T-City” or not fight at UFC 303 at all.

It will be interesting to see if the short-notice change in weight significantly affects the dynamic of the Ortega vs. Lopes matchup, but after both men successfully hit the lightweight limit on weigh-in day the fight remains one of the most highly-anticipated bouts set to take place tomorrow night in Las Vegas.

UFC 303 Full Fight Card Predictions: Pereira vs. Prochazka, Lopes vs. Ortega

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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