Jiri Prochazka: Second chance at a second chance
Alex Pereira may be the champion of the UFC’s light heavyweight division and the next budding mega-star for the promotion. That means nothing to Jiri Prochazka. He looks to return and claim what he sees as rightfully his. Prochazka is getting a second chance at Pereira this weekend at UFC 303. The first fight didn’t go his way and now, Prochazka is out for revenge.
Jiri Prochazka isn’t as big of a star as Pereira. But his samurai lifestyle (his words, not mine) have made him more popular than most. On the biggest stage of his career so far, Prochazka will aim to win the gold. After all, Pereira’s fans can’t fight for him.
The injury, the setback, the rebound
The rivalry between “Poatan” and Prochazka starts at Prochazka’s capture of the 205 title. Prochazka defeated Glover Teixeira in one of the better title fights in recent memory. After that fight, Pereira, who is a teammate of Teixeira, stared down Prochazka. Pereira was plotting revenge.
That is when the Glover Teixeira Revenge Tour began for Alex Pereira. As he came up through 205, Pereira defeated Jan Blachowicz, a former opponent of Teixeira, but had not beat him.
Jiri Prochazka then dislocated his shoulder and would be out for over a year. Honorable as always, Prochazka gave up the belt while he recovered. In his time away, Prochazka’s belt was snagged by Jamahal Hill. Oddly enough, Hill suffered an injury and was forced to vacate the belt in a similar fashion as Prochazka. This eventually set the stage for Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira.
Pereira managed to put Prochazka away. After a quality first round from Prochazka, he was caught by hellbows as he shot a takedown and was put unconscious.
Not to be deterred, Prochazka jumped back in the cage quickly. At UFC 300, just five months later, he took on Aleksandr Rakic. While some thought it was too soon, especially after a knockout, Prochazka walked through Rakic’s offense and finished Rakic who was devastated and tired by the second round. The stage had been set for a rematch…
Jiri Prochazka: Second chances
This is the second second chance received by Jiri Prochazka. After giving up the belt, he was afforded the opportunity to fight again for the title. While he came up short, the insistence of stepping back in just as soon as Pereira to get back in the win column shows Prochazka’s resolve.
Now with a third chance, he faces the same mountain to climb as before. He was champion, the best in the world. That was taken away from him unceremoniously. He failed to recaptured that glory. This weekend, in the main event of UFC 303, Prochazka will try again.
Of course, the short notice nature of this fight really changes the nature of the bout from the first. But Prochazka, just like Alex Pereira, is there to do what they do best: fight.
