The UFC 303 card has taken on a significant makeover, and a pair of featherweight standouts will fight in a prime spot.
Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega is going to be part of the refreshed International Fight Week lineup, UFC CEO Dana White announced late Thursday.
In addition, former light heavyweight Jamahal Hill is out of his fight against Carlos Ulberg, White announced, and has been replaced by Anthony Smith.
UFC 303 lost its Conor McGregor-Michael Chandler main event, as well, just hours after the promotion had to make a change to next week’s headliner in Saudi Arabia.
Lopes (23-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC), 29, has been unstoppable since a short-notice decision loss to undefeated Movsar Evloev in his debut at UFC 288 in May 2023. He’s reeled off three consecutive first-round finishes, with the most recent coming against Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 300 in April.
He will now get a chance to continue his streak against a perenial contender in Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), who is No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings and is coming off a submission victory over former interim champion Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 237 in February.
The latest UFC 303 lineup now includes:
- Champ Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka – for light heavyweight title
- Anthony Smith vs. Carlos Ulberg
- Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega
- Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Macy Chiasson
- Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Joe Pyfer
- Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael Page
- Andre Fili vs. Cub Swanson
- Vinicius Oliveira vs. Ricky Simon
- Charles Jourdain vs. Jean Silva
- Yanis Ghemmouri vs. Payton Talbott
- Gillian Robertson vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Martin Buday
- Carlos Hernandez vs. Rei Tsuruya
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
