UFC 303 LIVE: Alex Pereira vs Jiri Prochazka start time, card, fight updates and results tonight

We kick off the regular prelims with a bantamweight bout between Payton Talbott and Yanis Ghemmouri.

Talbott, 25, is one of the most highly-rated UFC prospects in some time.

Talbott with a HUGE right cross inside the first 15 seconds, and Ghemmouri is dropped hard; he hits his head on the canvas badly.

Talbott pours on ground and pound, and Ghemmouri appears to go out… The referee steps in and waves off the fight!!

THAT is why Talbott is so highly rated. He gets the win in 19 seconds.

The regular prelims are under way!

Our live, round-by-round updates will begin in a few moments, but first: Here’s a round-up of the early-prelim results…

Gillian Robertson def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

(Waterson-Gomez announced her retirement after the bout.)

Martin Buday def. Andrei Arlovski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Rei Tsuruya def. Carlos Hernandez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Vinicius Oliveira def. Ricky Simon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

This week, Indy Sport interviewed Robert Whittaker (who may or may not be this writer’s favourite fighter, dating back to said writer’s pre-journalistic days. Of course, no bias anymore…).

Here’s what the former middleweight champion had to say about starching Ikram Aliskerov, his cancelled clash with Khamzat Chimaev, his next fight – and life in general:

The build to the fight has been somewhat tense in recent weeks, and that tension escalated at Thursday’s press conference, as Machado Garry accused the Londoner of trying to bribe his coaches for information.

“I’ve already broke this man’s confidence down so much,” said Machado Garry. “He knows, I don’t need to say what I’m talking about. You know exactly what I’m on about.

“Your self-confidence is f****d. You know what I’m talking about, it will come out. It will come out, kid, but your brain is f***ing scurrying for excuses. Do you want to say it or will I? Tell the people.

“Did you and your team offer thousands of dollars to get information [from my camp]?”

Prochazka has called on Pereira not to use “rituals” or “spiritual things” ahead of their main event.

Prochazka is known for his commitment to samurai teachings, but he believes that Pereira’s own pre-fight preparation may be giving him an unfair advantage.

“I think he believes in a lot of things, the help of spiritual things,” said the former champion this week, speaking on The MMA Hour. “That’s something that I think he can’t fight without.

“I want to keep that in a clear line: just sport performance, pure performance, man versus man. I think he doesn’t know how to fight without [spiritual guidance], because he uses these things every time.

“Everybody knows he’s working with some shamans from his hometown. He believes in some spiritual help from them. I believe, too, but I believe in the best human performance – right here, right now, without magic.

“It’s working [for him], but I believe in a clear way; I want to win in that way.”

Pereira – 8/13; Prochazka – 13/10

Ortega – 6/5; Lopes – 4/6

Machado Garry – 8/11; Page – 21/10

Conor McGregor was originally due to headline tonight, facing Michael Chandler in a fight 16 months in the making. But a broken toe ruled out the Irishman on two weeks’ notice, leading Pereira and Prochazka to step in.

The co-main event also underwent several changes: Initially, former light-heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill was due to face Khalil Rountree Jr, who tested positive for a banned substance; as such, Carlos Ulberg stepped up, only for Hill to withdraw due to injury; then, Anthony Smith was named as Hill’s replacement; THEN, middleweight Roman Dolidze agreed to move up a division to replace the injured Ulberg!

But Smith vs Dolidze was bumped down a spot, with a new co-main event made: Brian Ortega vs Diego Lopes. HOWEVER, Ortega’s poor weight-cut saw the bout turned from a featherweight contest into a lightweight bout yesterday…

Main card – 3am BST, Sunday

Alex Pereira (C) vs Jiri Prochazka 2 (light-heavyweight title)

Brian Ortega vs Diego Lopes (lightweight)

Anthony Smith vs Roman Dolidze (light-heavyweight)

Mayra Bueno Silva vs Macy Chiasson (women’s bantamweight)

Ian Machado Garry vs Michael Page (welterweight)

Prelims – 1am BST, Sunday (Indy Sport updates begin)

Joe Pyfer vs Marc-Andre Barriault (middleweight)

Cub Swanson vs Andre Fili (featherweight)

Charles Jourdain vs Jean Silva (featherweight)

Payton Talbott vs Yanis Ghemmouri (bantamweight)

Early prelims – 11pm BST, Saturday

Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs Gillian Robertson (women’s strawweight)

Andre Arlovski vs Martin Buday (heavyweight)

Rei Tsuruya vs Carlos Hernandez (flyweight)

Ricky Simon vs Vinicius Oliveira (bantamweight)

The card will air live on TNT Sports in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. Discovery+ will also air the action in the UK. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the event live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the event, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider.

We may earn commission from this link, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

UFC 303 takes place tonight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The early prelims will begin at 11pm BST (3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET), with the regular prelims following at 1am BST on Sunday (5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET on Saturday).

The main card will then start at 3am BST on Sunday (7pm PT / 9pm CT / 10pm ET on Saturday).

Indy Sport’s live updates will start at 1am BST, when we’ll also give you a round-up of the early-prelim results.