UFC on ESPN 23 results: Jiri Prochazka KOs Dominick Reyes with brutal spinning elbow

It might seem crazy for a fighter to get a title shot just two fights into the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

But Jiri Prochazka (28-3-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) made his case in a big way with a massive second-round knockout of former title challenger Dominick Reyes (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC). Prochazka closed the show with a spinning back elbow that put Reyes out cold with 31 seconds left in the second round.

The light heavyweight bout was the UFC on ESPN 23 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.

Reyes took the center of the cage and pushed off a few jabs, followed byb a pair of kicks. A hard kick to the body landed 30 seconds in and backed Prochazka up. Reyes tried to get his left hand going, but Prochazka threw a three-punch combo to make some noise. A Reyes left hand was on the mark, but Prochazka landed a right that wobbled Reyes. Two minutes in, Reyes got inside and took Prochazka to the canvas. He couldn’t get much done from half-guard before Prochazka powered his way back to the feet.

And there, Prochazka put together several heavy punches and a kick. He seemed to sense Reyes was hurt and stayed aggressive. He backed Reyes to the fence, but Reyes pushed out and fired his own response. Reyes kicked to the body, but Prochazka didn’t seem fazed. Reyes landed big punches with a minute left, but Prochazka still seemed to walk right through them. They took turns landing in tight quarters, and Reyes started bleeding from his nose. In the final 10 seconds, Prochazka threw punches in bunches right to the horn.

The pace slowed in Round 2, and Reyes refused to go away. He put combos on Prochazka – who again just seemed unbothered by it all and fired back and. continued to push Reyes back. Prochazka threw jumping kicks and push kicks and pounded his chest, then threw an elbow. And though Reyes was wobbled, he landed big and seemed to hurt Prochazka. Prochazka had to take the fight to the canvas, and Reyes went after a guillotine choke. But Prochazka popped his head out and gathered himself to half-guard. Reyes landed an upkick while Prochazka postured up. And when Reyes finally got back to his feet with 45 seconds left, Prochazka kept the pressure on.

Then, out of nowhere, Prochazka threw a spinning elbow – and it was on the money. A right elbow was followed by a spinning left elbow, and Reyes likely had no idea what hit him. It was just the third spinning elbow knockout in UFC history.

“Yeah … OK … let’s do that,” Prochazka of a possible title shot. “That’s a big honor for me.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 23 results include:

• Jiri Prochazka def. Dominick Reyes via knockout (spinning back elbow) – Round 2, 4:29
• Giga Chikadze def. Cub Swanson via TKO (body kick, punches) – Round 1, 1:03
• Ion Cutelaba vs. Dustin Jacoby declared split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
• Sean Strickland def. Krzysztof Jotko via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Merab Dvalishvili def. Cody Stamann via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Luana Pinheiro def. Randa Markos via disqualification (illegal kick) – Round 1, 4:16
• TJ Brown def. Kai Kamaka via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
• Luana Carolina def. Poliana Botelho via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Loma Lookboonmee def. Sam Hughes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Andreas Michailidis def. KB Bhullar via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Felipe Colares def. Luke Sanders via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)