Jiri Prochazka Wants Alex Pereira Rematch After 'Early Stoppage' in First Meeting

Jiri Prochazka believes he still has unfinished business with Alex Pereira.

Prochazka recently scored a bonus-winning knockout victory over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300 on April 13. Pereira also defended his light heavyweight strap with a brutal technical knockout win over Jamahal Hill in the main event of the same card. Having suffered a TKO loss against “Poatan” in a bid for the vacant title in November 2023, Prochazka now wants a rematch against the Brazilian at UFC 301, which goes down on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While the Czech star is ready to go through one more test if the UFC wants it, he believes he has done enough to deserve a gold bid.

“Like I spoke after the fight, I'm looking for the title fight, for Alex Pereira. And I was able to and am still able to take the fight in Brazil. And I will see,” Prochazka said in an interview with Michael Bisping. “Now it's on the UFC [at] this point. Let's see if there will be necessary to fight someone else before the title fight, I will do that. But I think I deserve it after that decision in New York and after [I] won this fight.”

If Prochazka is able to receive a title shot, it’s unlikely to happen at UFC 301, however. Pereira recently revealed that he would not likely be medically cleared to compete in Rio de Janeiro.

While there was some controversy regarding Prochazka’s stoppage loss against Pereira, “BJP” dismissed “early stoppage” claims in his post-fight interview. However, having rewatched the fight, Prochazka has changed his stance. He believes he did not get enough time to recover, unlike Pereira’s latest foe Hill.

“I said what I said, and that was right in that time. But when you see that many times and when the people ask you for that many times, so when I saw that fight, I have to say it was an early stoppage," he said. "Because if you know me – especially in this case when you see the Jamahal Hill vs. Pereira [fight] right now… it was similar like in my fight and Jamahal had much more time than me to survive that moment. And I know how to survive the hard moments and I know how to get back, how to win, how to reverse.”

Prochazka has proven himself capable of surviving and turning around tough situations throughout his UFC career. In his last outing, Prochazka’s lead leg was chewed up along with a cut near the right eye before he came from behind to knock Rakic out. However, Prochazka realizes he can’t possibly risk letting down his defense against Pereira ,who recently destroyed former heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou's punching power record.

“It’s hard to speak about the performance with Alex Pereira when you saw my performance with Aleksandar Rakic. I realized that I can’t, especially with Alex, there is no way to work with him like I worked with Aleksandar Rakic,” he said. “Because just one punch, one two punches, and that’s mean everything. But still, I realized that my opponent will make my performance because I would not fight in the same way with Rakic in the same way with Pereira. I know I’m working, I will be another person.”