Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen doesn’t see much in it when it comes to this weekend’s championship main event between Alex Pereira and Jiří Procházka.
Pereira, the reigning light heavyweight titleholder, will run it back with former divisional kingpin Procházka in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 303 pay-per-view event at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
The bout comes seven months on from their previous showdown at Madison Square Garden, where “Poatan” captured the then-vacant belt to achieve two-division glory in record time.
Following their respective wins at UFC 300 this past April, Pereira pointed to “BJP” as his targeted next opponent. And with that in mind, there was little hesitation to accept the rematch for June 29 on just a couple of weeks’ notice following the cancellation of Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler.
That willingness seems to have surprised Sonnen, who believes he may have a vastly different recollection of how the UFC 295 main event unfolded than Pereira…
Sonnen: Finishing Sequence In First Pereira vs. Procházka Fight Could Have Gone Either Way
During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen looked ahead to the second chapter in Pereira and Procházka’s rivalry, paying close attention to why “Poatan” accepted another battle with “BJP” on late notice.
From what he saw in New York City, “The Bad Guy” sees no major advantage for the champ over his Czech counterpart at UFC 303.
“That is so wildly close,” Sonnen said of the current odds for Pereira vs. Procházka 2. “Do you remember what a great fight it was (at UFC 295)? Do you remember how close it was? Do you remember Procházka implementing some grappling? … (Pereira) knocked him out in an exchange which could have gone his way or against him. … Am I remembering it differently? Does anybody dispute that? They (odds) are favoring Pereira, but it is ever so slight. -120 to +110. It is ever so slight.
“I am not convinced that Pereira has a meaningful advantage. There are things that Pereira brings to the table unlike anybody else that’s done this sport, that’s true,” Sonnen continued. “But there’s things within the style of Procházka that when you have somebody like Pereira that is so willing, anyone, anytime, short notice, this weight class — but he knows fully what he’s getting into, that’s the difference. Pereira knows what he’s getting into with Procházka. He knows full well that’s a guy to avoid…and without hesitation, Pereira is going to revisit that. … I would love to know why what I thought was a very back-and-forth battle that went your way with a good punch…why was there no hesitation? Where was the fear?”
With the manner by which the first fight came to an end causing controversy, “Poatan” will look to deliver a definitive victory over Procházka’s in tomorrow night’s main event.
Ready for his moment ⚔️#UFC303 | @Jiri_BJP pic.twitter.com/B0cHJyv8Ca
— UFC (@ufc) June 27, 2024