Jiri Prochazka sheds light on nasty staph infection ahead of Alex Pereira title fight: ‘I could only train for one week’

Former undisputed light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka has revealed he suffered from a nasty staph infection his left leg ahead of his UFC 295 title fight with Alex Pereira back in November at Madison Square Garden, claiming he was only able to train for a maximum one week in the final month ahead of the bout.

Prochazka, the current number one ranked light heavyweight contender made his return to the Octagon in November at UFC 295, taking headlining honors against former middleweight champion, Pereira in the pair’s vacant light heavyweight title affair.

And suffering his first promotional loss, Czech Republic native, Prochazka was stopped in the second round by Sao Paulo knockout artist, Pereira in a TKO loss in New York City.

Already booked to make his comeback to the Octagon in April, Prochazka takes on Austrian contender, Aleksandar Rakic in a high-stakes pairing at UFC 300, landing against the returning Rakic in an all-European showdown.

Jiri Prochazka reveals staph infection ahead of UFC 295 return

Ahead of the bout, Prochazka has revealed that ahead of his fight with Brazilian favorite, Pereira, he was suffering from a rather nasty staph infection, which limited him to just one week of training in the final five weeks before their UFC 295 title headliner.

“I had a staph infection five weeks before the (Alex) Pereira match,” Jiri Prochazka told MMA Fighting. “It first started on my leg and spread to my ear. Due to this disease, I could only train properly for one week in five weeks.”

Winning undisputed light heavyweight gold back in the summer of 2022, former Rizin FF gold holder, Prochazka rallied to land a fifth round rear-naked choke submission win over Pereira’s close friend and former champion, Glover Teixeira in Singapore.

Who wins at UFC 300 in April: Jiri Prochazka or Aleksandar Rakic?