Jiri Prochazka placed on a powerful efficiency in opposition to a tricky opponent in Jamahal Hill at UFC 311, knocking out the previous champion within the third spherical of their predominant card combat (highlights right here). It wasn’t at all times straightforward, although. Hill landed quite a lot of large pictures, and there was a threat the combat would possibly get known as after Prochazka took a very nasty poke to the attention.
Throughout the UFC 311 post-fight press convention, Prochazka mentioned his enchancment, the attention poke, and accusations from the printed group that he was nonetheless sloppy in a single specific space.
“That was the change what I wished to point out,” Jiri mentioned of not going for the kill when he had Hill harm within the first spherical. “Like, I don’t have to press myself and be in a rush for a knockout, like, 100% knockout. I need a knockout, however be prepared for for the whole lot … Catch the opponent in the appropriate instances. Critically and never so significantly making a contact. Feeling good in a combat. And that is one thing I achieved.”
“Me and my group, we took the preparation very significantly. So I’m completely satisfied that I I confirmed some little enchancment with the arms up. However nonetheless, I consider in my feeling of my head motion and of the sensation of the of the gap. So that is my sport.”
“l nonetheless really feel [the eye poke] proper now,” Prochazka revealed. “There isn’t any solution to cease the combat due to eye poke. I’ve acquired yet another eye. We’re right here to combat, to win the combat. I do know there’s guidelines and all these items, however that is the true sport of man, the combat. And also you preventing with eyes, no eyes, if the opponent will get you to ‘the boss’ or not. Doesn’t matter. For me, it’s combat until the top. There must be one winner, and one who’s not.”
“I’ll play for the docs the sport that I’m okay, if he needs to cease or one thing like that. Like I mentioned, no manner for them to cease it due to this.”
Jiri Prochazka reacts on physician contemplating to cease his combat as a result of if the attention poke:
“There isn’t any [point] to cease the combat due to the attention poke. I’ve yet another eye.”
@ufc ▫️ pic.twitter.com/KyumWZ8ceH
— Residence of Combat (@Home_of_Fight) January 19, 2025
Prochazka has taken plenty of criticism for leaving himself defensively open together with his hands-down stance. And that didn’t change after UFC 311, which featured Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier castigating the previous 205 pound champ for not preserving his arms up.
“I had, in first spherical, arms down?” Prochazka mentioned when instructed of their feedback. “F**okay them. F**okay them! I labored on that a lot. So I feel it’s best to see that.”
He laughed as he mentioned it, nevertheless it’s clear he’s doesn’t just like the accusations of sloppy hand positioning.
“Man, all of the messages every single day: ‘Man, it’s important to preserve your arms up,’” he mentioned. “So okay, I’ll try this. For this combat, I’ll preserve that particularly for this night time. No!”
“Like I mentioned, I consider in my senses,” he continued. “I consider in my feeling in a combat, in my head motion. And that’s why I can preserve the arms down. However to be trustworthy, in final combat with Alex [Pereira] it was a little bit bit an excessive amount of. So … that is one thing what I’ve labored on and I wanna see the video from the combat as a result of I consider that I did that, just a bit bit.”
Everybody together with Rogan and Cormier agreed, his head motion was certainly on level in opposition to Hill at UFC 313. However can he depend on that in opposition to a fearsome opponent like Alex Pereira, who has already proved twice that he can discover Prochazka’s button and hit it with relative ease?