Jiri Prochazka admits he gave away championship fight to Alex Pereira with costly mistake

Jiri Prochazka shares his learnings from the loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 295.

Jiri Prochazka admits he gave away championship fight to Alex Pereira with costly mistake

Jiri Prochazka speaks about learning lesson from the mistake he made against Alex Pereira (Via Instagram/Imago)

Jiri Prochazka faced Alex Pereira for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 295. After winning the first round, Pereira caught Prochazka in the second round to attain a knockout win. The Czech fighter believed a minor mistake cost him the title fight. As such, he recounted the incident ahead of his return at UFC 300.

In a recent interview, Jiri Prochazka held himself accountable for his loss against Alex Pereira. Reminding himself of his control in the fight until the mistake, Prochazka acknowledged the significance of one small error. Here is what he said:

I have to keep all the fight in my hand, every detail, every small step in the cage, everything! Until that (knockout) I handled that fight. It was my mistake, a small mistake but in this game, there's no place for these small mistakes.
Jiri Prochazka via Inside Fighting
YouTube video

Learning from experience, Jiri Prochazka looked forward to rectifying his mistakes and winning his next fight. Further, he predicted the upcoming title fight between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill, which headlines the historic UFC 300.

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While he gave Hill the overall skill advantage, he believed Pereira would become more deadly as the fight progressed. Certainly, the Czech fighter would have eyes on the matchup, considering he wanted to fight for the title soon.

Jiri Prochazka will fight Aleksandar Rakic in the prelims of UFC 300. The winner of this bout would have a claim to fight for the LHW title just behind Magomed Ankalaev. The Dagestani earned his shot by defeating Johnny Walker at UFC Vegas 84.

Jiri Prochazka previews his fight against Aleksandar Rakic

Facing a devastating loss to Alex Pereira, Jiri Prochazka wanted to return to the winning column soon. As such, he accepted a fight with Aleksandar Rakic after the Austrian’s scheduled fight with Jan Blachowicz was called off. Rakic was returning from a long hiatus due to an injury. As such, he also had a chip on his shoulder to prove his worth. Now, the former LHW champion previewed his fight against the #5-ranked fighter.

Jiri Prochazka previews his UFC 300 fight against Aleksandar Rakic
Jiri Prochazka previews his UFC 300 fight against Aleksandar Rakic (Via MMA Mania/Bloody Elbow)

Prochazka unveiled he had no particular inclination as to how he wanted to win against Aleksandar Rakic. He simply wanted to win, and the means didn’t matter to him. Here is what he said:

For me, it doesn't matter if (I win) in the first round, second, third round. When you're able to accept that, that you'll do anything for the win, that's the best attitude. I believe in my standup but now I started working on my ground game a lot. I'm open to every possibility.
Jiri Prochazka via Inside Fighting

Constantly improving his skillset, Jiri Prochazka even submitted the grappling legend Glover Texiera. As such, can one see him submitting Aleksandar Rakic, who prefers to use his wrestling to control his opponent? Nonetheless, this fight had high stakes, considering both the fighters were coming off losses. As such, they clash heads at UFC 300 in the prelim headliner.

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