Jiri Prochazka doubled down on his callout of UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
At UFC 300, Prochazka overcame adversity against Aleksandar Rakic and secured a second-round TKO win in an entertaining fashion. Following his impressive performance, the Czech Republic native called for a rematch against Pereira, who knocked out Jamahal Hill in the main event to retain his 205-pound throne.
Prochazka and Pereira fought in November 2023 at UFC 295, with the latter emerging victorious by second-round TKO to claim the vacant light heavyweight title. Despite the recent defeat, ‘BJP’ had this to say about what he wants next during an interview on Michael Bisping’s podcast:
“Like I spoke after the fight [at UFC 300], I’m looking for the title fight for Alex Pereira. I was able to, and I’m still able to, take the fight in Brazil [at UFC 301]. I will see, now it’s on UFC at this point. So, let’s see if there will be necessary to fight someone else before the fight. I will do that, but I think I deserve it after the fight, especially after that decision in New York and after the one this fight.”
Bisping followed up by asking Prochazka if he’s talked to the UFC about potentially facing Pereira on May 4 at UFC 301. The former light heavyweight champion responded by saying:
“I told that to the interviews, not to UFC. I told that to my manager who is in contact with UFC with Hunter Campbell, with Dana White too.”
Watch the fight-ending sequence between Prochazka and Pereira below:
Alex Pereira defeats Jiri Prochazka via KO (Left Hook to Elbows) in the 2nd at UFC 295 to become the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion
The 9th two division Champion in UFC history
(@KavezMma) pic.twitter.com/YDg18d9Ngk
— The Octagon Obsessed (@octagonobsessed) November 12, 2023
Jiri Prochazka claims Jamahal Hill was given more time to recover against Alex Pereira than him
Jiri Prochazka initially didn’t have an issue with the stoppage in his loss against Alex Pereira. While speaking to Michael Bisping, Prochazka said he changed his mind after further processing the situation and seeing the fight-ending sequence in the UFC 300 main event. He explained why by saying:
“I have to say that was an early stoppage. It was because if you know me, especially in this case, especially when you see the Jamahal Hill vs [Alex] Pereira right now…It was similar in my fight and Jamahal had much more time than me to survive that moment. I know how to survive the hard moments, and I know how to get back, how to win, how to reverse it.”
Before losing against Alex Pereira, Jiri Prochazka took the UFC light heavyweight division by storm with three consecutive finishes, including a fifth-round submission against Glover Teixeira to become a world champion.
He now looks to secure a rematch against Pereira, but number two-ranked Magomed Ankalaev could receive the opportunity first.
Watch Prochazka’s entire interview with Michael Bisping below:
