“Could’ve waited for one more” – Aljamain Sterling claims referee’s missed call might have altered Jiri Prochazka’s fate against Alex Pereira

Aljamain Sterling claims a bad judgement call by the referee altered Jiri Prochazka's fate at UFC 295. The referee stopped the bout after Jiri fell backwards after multiple elbow strikes from Alex Pereira but did not feel conclusive.

“Could’ve waited for one more” – Aljamain Sterling claims referee’s missed call might have altered Jiri Prochazka’s fate against Alex Pereira

Aljamain Sterling weighs in on Jiri Prochazka vs Alex Pereira rumored early stoppage (Source: IMAGO/Twitter)

Alex Pereira defeated Jiri Prochazka in the main event of UFC 295. There was some controversy surrounding Pereira’s win. The stoppage came after Pereira’s final punches and definitive strikes had fumbled the opponent. Referee Marc Goddard stopped the bout, to which many fans and peers cried foul. Aljamain Sterling has weighed in on the same.

At first glance, it seemed like an early stoppage. However, Jiri came out and stated that it was the correct stoppage. On the other hand, Sterling put forth his views. This is what Sterling said:

I still think because Jiri “came back” that you could’ve waited for 1 more strike to land before stopping it, just for good measure because Jiri was already starting to move again. But to me this wasn't an awful stoppage by any means, in my book at least...
Aljamain Sterling via X.
YouTube video

Prochazka did not protest the stoppage in his post-fight interview. He admitted that he was out when he took the shots from Pereira. Fighters and fans will continue to debate the stoppage for years. Despite Prochazka accepting the decision as the correct one, others like Sterling play the “what if game.”

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Aljamain Sterling has remained amicable about the situation. Adding more juice to the context remains the fact that Goddard stopped Sterling’s title bout against O’Malley similarly. He lost his bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292. Sterling believed that stoppage was also another instance of an early stoppage.

Jiri Prochazka addresses UFC 295 stoppage controversy in first statement since losing

Alex Pereira handed Jiri Prochazka a major career skid in the title fight of UFC 295. Before losing to Pereira, he went 3-0 in the UFC, including a thrilling fifth-round submission of Glover Teixeira at UFC 275. This had earned him the light heavyweight title. This particular loss marks the end of a 13-win streak.

Jiri Prochazka accepts the stoppage was right at UFC 295
Jiri Prochazka accepts the stoppage was right (Source: Instagram/X)

The end of the bout was marked with much controversy. The common consensus remained that the referee, Marc Goddard, had induced an early stoppage to the fight. However, in his first social media outing since the skid, Prochazka issued a statement. He mentioned accepting the loss and finding the reason justifiable. He said:

Hello everyone, I just want to say to all of you thank you for your support. 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...
Jiri Prochazka via Instagram

The clear sportsmanship spirit of the fighter has drawn much admiration. Prochazka has admitted the opponent’s skillset and the effort it took to fight him. He also credited referee Goddard for the right call. The fighter has however vowed to make a successful comeback soon.

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