Anthony Smith and Alex Pereira are both stepping up to help save UFC 303 next Saturday night.

Unfortunately, Conor McGregor’s highly-anticipated return to the octagon won’t be happening as planned for International Fight Week 2024 next week. Injury has prevented “The Notorious” from making his usual main event strut, this time opposite Michael Chandler. Instead, UFC 303 now gets a title fight to headline as light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira rematches the man he defeated to claim the crown at UFC 295 last November, Jiri Prochazka.

UFC 303 also lost a light heavyweight contender bout that saw former champion Jamahal Hill matched with surging striker Khalil Rountree. That was until Rountree tested positive for a banned substance, leading Carlos Ulberg to take his place. Then Hill suffered an injury and now the aforementioned Smith finds himself in place of his teammate for the fight camp.

Smith and Pereira have exchanged some competitive words in recent years, prompting Smith’s podcast co-host Michael Bisping to throw at him the possibility of a title fight should they both win at UFC 303.

“I’m not really thinking about that. I’m just worried about Carlos Ulberg,” Smith said on Believe You Me. “He’s a tall task. He’s really good at what he does. He’s young, he’s hungry, he’s got a big opportunity in front of him, and I got to remember that when these guys fight me, I’m their world title fight, and they’re trying to make a name off me and I gotta make sure that doesn’t happen.

“If I cut a promo on Alex Pereira right afterward, that lines up.”

Smith has challenged for UFC gold on one occasion, which came against Jon Jones at UFC 235 in March 2019. Jones won the bout via unanimous decision and “Lionheart” has been a 205-pound staple ever since.

Since then, Pereira has entered the promotion, taking it by storm with two divisional titles now on his résumé at middleweight and currently at light heavyweight. “Poatan” received praise from Smith for stepping up on short notice, as Pereira dealt with some broken toes in his UFC 300 first-round knockout win over Hill in April.

“What he’s doing is crazy,” Smith said. “I just can’t believe that he’s out on this tour in Australia, hanging out, letting his toes heal up, and he’s like, ‘Two weeks? Yeah. Let’s do it.’ (laughs) Okay, I love that.

“I think it was very matchup-specific [why he took this fight]. Like, he probably wouldn’t have taken this fight with Magomed [Ankalaev] or — and I’m not trying to hype myself, but probably not with me just because there’s a different skill set. He’s already trained for Jiri one time before so he’s familiar with him. There’s not the stress and shock and awe of the unknown so he already knows what he’s getting himself into.”

Ulberg will be Smith’s 58th professional fight (38-19) come fight night. The veteran recently rebounded off of a loss to Rountree when he upset the previously undefeated 11-0 Vitor Petrino at UFC 301 with a first-round guillotine in May.

While Smith still wants to taste UFC gold and the challenge of a Pereira pairing, he knows Ulberg can’t be overlooked.

“He does mirror ‘Izzy’ (Israel Adesanya) in a lot of ways,” Smith said. “The way that they defend, they lean back, they both counter really well. But I think you make it a full mixed martial arts fight and make him worry about the wrestling, the clinch, the grappling, and I got the gas to do that. We can fight everywhere and I’m gonna force him to do that. I’m confident that over 15 minutes he’s not gonna be able to stay at — first round, I think he’ll be really, really tough. I think he’ll defend takedowns well, he’ll manage the range really well. I think you just keep chipping away at him and I think we’ll get him out of there, but I feel really good about it.”

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TOP STORIES

Done. Matt Brown reacts to Conor McGregor’s UFC 303 injury dropout: ‘He’s not ever coming back’

Patience. Dana White addresses Conor McGregor’s future after injury, ‘poor’ Michael Chandler still wants to wait

Success. ‘Is he the best underdog of the year?’: Pros react to Mike Perry getting boxing match with Jake Paul

Dream. Patchy Mix wants Bellator to pursue Jose Aldo as his next opponent: ‘My mouth waters thinking about that sh*t’

Recap. The Ultimate Fighter 32: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko Episode 3 results

Post-Fight. Retired UFC veteran Mark Madsen launches his own MMA promotion, first card planned for Denmark in September

Size. Raul Rosas Jr. believes ‘it’s inevitable that I will have to move up to 145’

Hopes. Paulo Costa believes Khamzat Chimaev is perfect opponent to bring back ‘the old Paulo’

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LISTEN UP

Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck reacts to Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya announcement for UFC 305.

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LET’S WATCH

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and New York Rick react to Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry getting made official.

Sound & Pound.

UFC Journey: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov.

Free fights.

RIZIN Confessions 152.

Bellator Fight Camp.

Ramazan Kurmagomedov BTS.

PFL Fight Week.

Invicta FC 55 trailer.

Paddy at bat.

Craig Jones seminar.

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LISTEN UP

Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck reacts to Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya announcement for UFC 305.

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MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

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SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

Keeping busy.

Quite the matchup.

No fun.

Interesting.

The Jouban journey.

Checking in.

Just chillin’.

Should they give him a shot?

This is completely random but way too funny not to share.

Ice cold.

Response.

Conceive, believe...

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Javid Basharat (14-1, 1 NC) vs. Chris Gutierrez (20-6-2); UFC Saudi Arabia, Aug. 3

Jarred Brooks (20-3) vs. Gustavo Balart (12-4); ONE Fight Night 24, Aug. 3

Jai Herbert (12-5-1) vs. Rolando Bedoya (14-3); UFC Abu Dhabi, August 3

Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0) vs. Alexander Shabliy (24-3); Bellator San Diego, Sept. 7

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I don’t remember if I said it last week in an MR, but Smith getting a title shot over Ankalaev would be absolutely ludicrous. However, it’s so, so, so very possible if he wins. Just leave, Ank. There’s almost no hope, big dog.

Thanks for reading!

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EXIT POLL

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If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.