After winning his recent fight at UFC 300, Jiri Prochazka expressed his desire to fight Alex Pereira next, hoping for a rematch after their previous bout at UFC 295.
Jiri Prochazka has his sights set on Alex Pereira. He’s itching for a rematch.
Just this past Saturday, Prochazka made a splash in the UFC 300 feature prelim. He bested Aleksandar Rakic in the second round, bouncing back from a shaky first. It was his first victory since his loss to Pereira in the vacant light heavyweight title fight at UFC 295. He admits feeling the heat to win this one.
“Feeling fantastic,” said Prochazka on Wednesday’s episode of The MMA Hour. “The mission was a success. This fight, it meant a lot to me. After the New York fight, I was all in for this one. Maybe that’s why I was so focused on hitting Aleksandar’s weak spots. Perhaps, I took too many punches. Should’ve been more relaxed, had more fun.”
He added, “I don’t need to stress myself out. But Aleksandar’s trash talk helped me focus. Winning this fight was crucial. I wanted to prove that the cage is my territory. Your punches? I can take ’em. I can power through, right through the opponent.”
Another fighter who knows a thing or two about powering through opponents is Pereira. He also fought at UFC 300, knocking out Jamahal Hill in the first round of the main event to keep his light heavyweight title. He did the same to Prochazka at UFC 295 last November. But Prochazka had a staph infection before that fight. He vows to bring a different game if there’s a rematch.
“No regrets,” Prochazka said about his previous fight with Pereira. “I took the fight because the main event, Jon Jones vs. [Stipe] Miocic, fell through. I thought, ‘It’s my time, no matter what.’ I had a staph infection, I was on antibiotics, there were other issues. But I told myself, ‘Push through. Give it your all. Believe.’ But next time, I want to be more professional. I need to be healthy for every fight.”
And now, with both fighters winning on Saturday, Prochazka is hoping for a rematch soon.
“I want to fight for the title,” Prochazka said. “Especially after the New York decision. Winning on Saturday, that’s all I’m thinking about. I know my performance on Saturday — taking punches — won’t work with Pereira. But people need to understand, I know how to adapt to different fighters. I can change my game.”
And if he had his way, “soon” would mean “immediately.” After UFC 300, Pereira expressed his wish to fight at UFC 301 in Rio in a few weeks. Although it’s unlikely since Pereira broke a toe during his fight with Hill, if anything changes, Prochazka is ready to step up.
“As soon as possible,” Prochazka said about the timeline. “If it’s for a title with Alex, I’m ready to fight in Brazil. In two weeks. If there’s another date, we’ll see.”