Jiri Prochazka Defends Controversial Stoppage Against Alex Pereira at UFC 295: ‘Marc Goddard was right’
Jiri Prochazka has released his first statement since suffering a second-round knockout at the heavy hands of Alex Pereira.
Returning to the Octagon nearly a year and a half removed from his world title-winning performance against Glover Teixeira, ‘Denisa’ failed to reclaim the gold he never lost after getting caught by the ‘Brazilian Boogeyman’ during their UFC 295 headliner in Madison Square Garden.
With a minute to go in the second, Pereira caught Prochazka moving in with a right hand that dropped the former light heavyweight champion. ‘Denisa’ immediately shot in for a takedown, but left himself open to eat a series of elbow strikes from Pereira that sent him falling back to the canvas. Referee Marc Goddard quickly jumped in and called for the stoppage despite Prochazka’s quick recovery.
Fight fans immediately cried foul online, claiming the stoppage was premature.
Jiri Prochazka Promises to be back ‘Stronger than ever’
Addressing his defeat via social media, ‘Denisa’ defended Goddard’s call, just as he did during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
“Hello everyone, I just want to say to all of you thank you for your support,” Prochazka said via Instagram. “This is for me just motivation. Nothing else. Marc Goddard was right. Maybe two or three seconds and it would be a different way, but what happened happened. I accept that. Watch me now. I’ll be back stronger than ever. Thank you for the support.”
The loss is the first of Jiri Prochazka’s career inside the Octagon and snaps and 13-fight win streak that dates back to his days competing under the RIZIN FF banner in 2016.
His opponent, Alex Pereira, captured his second UFC title in as many divisions while moving his overall mixed martial arts record to 9-2. ‘Poatan’ now holds victories over four current and/or former world champions, including Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, and Jiri Prochazka.
