Jiri Prochazka will return to the ring with a vengeance this weekend as he seeks to regain the UFC heavyweight title when he faces middleweight champion Alex Pereira. The pair will face off in the main event of UFC 295, which takes place on Saturday, Nov. 11.
The main event sees Jiri Prochazka looking to recapture the light heavyweight championship he never lost in the cage when he takes on former middleweight champion Alex Pereira. Prochazka won the belt in 2022 with a dramatic last-minute submission of Glover Teixeira in one of the best fights in years but was forced to vacate after suffering a shoulder injury in training.
Prochazka began the closing sequence with a right hand that stung Pereira and moved him back to the cage. Pereira landed a left uppercut that dropped Prochazka and then finished him, forcing referee Marc Godard to call it off.
He’s the eighth fighter to win championships in two weight classes in the UFC, following Randy Couture, B.J. Penn, Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Georges St-Pierre, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo.
Pereira, one of the hardest hitters in the sport, spent much of the fight circling away from Prochazka, who had won the title in 2022, when he submitted Pereira’s coach, Glover Teixeira, at UFC 275 in the Fight of the Year.
The UFC light heavyweight title has had a rough stretch since Jon Jones, the division's all-time best fighter, voluntarily gave up the championship before moving to heavyweight. Perhaps Pereira will bring some stability. Prochazka vacated the belt in late 2022 due to a severe shoulder injury. Jamahal Hill then won it by beating Glover Teixeira in January. But Hill tore his Achilles tendon in July and had to relinquish the title himself.
During the second round, the Brazilian picked up where he left off by again targeting Prochazka's compromised legs. However, Prochazka battled back on his feet and found success by striking Pereira with pressure. But moments after landing a big right hand, Prochazka fell victim to the right-left counter combo, hammerfists and elbows that made the ref stop the fight.
Though Prochazka jumped right up onto his feet after the ref stopped the bout, he didn't argue the result.
"In the end, it was right," Prochazka told Rogan in the Octagon. "I was out, but I will never stop."
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