UFC 303 Results: What’s in store for Jiri Prochazka after his another brutal TKO loss to Alex Pereira?

UFC 303 blew the roof off the T-Mobile Arena last Saturday night (June 29, 2024) in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving many fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Antonius Smitwho was upset by Roman Dolidze — a middleweight — via unanimous decision after an uninspiring performance.

And Michelle Waterson-Gomezwho ended her mixed martial arts (MMA) career on a sour note, losing her fifth straight after being utterly dominated by Gillian Robertson (see her farewell speech here). But which fighter, a few days after the show, is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover?

Jiri Prochazka.

In his rematch against the light heavyweight champion, Alex PereiraProchazka was very confident despite losing to “Poatan” via second-round TKO at UFC 295 seven months ago. Magic minds aside, “BJP” felt the first fight didn’t reflect what he can do, and he bounced back with a tremendous stoppage victory over Alexander Rakic. But as he soon discovered (again), Pereira is in a class of his own.

From the start, Pereira dictated the pace, never letting Prochazka find a rhythm. Once he got going, “Poatan” started scoring more often, stunningly defeating “BJP” with one second left in the opening round. If there had been a few more seconds, Pereira would have finished the job.

Don’t worry, at the start of the second round Pereira threw a Mirko Cro Cop-style high kick that dropped his opponent like a sack of potatoes. After a bit of hesitation, perhaps justified, Pereira reluctantly went in and finished the job. It was actually a good thing Herb Dean didn’t stop the fight right away, because this time there was no controversy over an early stoppage.

And just like that, the legend of “Poatan” explodes exponentially as Prochazka suffers his second defeat to the champion, putting him out of reach of another title shot as long as the Brazilian bomber holds the title. It is something that has not escaped Prochazka, who admitted that he needs to resolve some things as quickly as possible.

“Hello everyone, thanks for all your support,” Prochazka said on X. “Thank you Alex for the fight. You (were) better. And there’s only one thing going through my mind, that I have to evolve to the next level — or stop fighting. It’s that simple, to be the strongest, this is the way. Thank you. See you at the gym.”

There is no denying that Prochazka has all the talent in the world as a former champion, but Pereira has his number and a trilogy fight is unlikely to happen anytime soon, if ever. For now, the “BJP” needs to regroup and look to the future and win some fights.

For my money, a fight against Jamahal Hill makes perfect sense for the simple fact that Pereira’s last three wins have been against those men. UFC has made a habit of pitting fighters who have lost to the same person against each other. If Hill wants another title fight, why wouldn’t he try to beat the No. 1?

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