‘Ring Rust Is Going To Play A Factor’

Prochazka has been sitting out too long with a bad injury for “DC” to be comfortable about his chances against “Poatan” in New York City.

Jiri Prochazka returns to action at UFC 295 this weekend (Sat., Nov. 11, 2023) after 1.5 years on the sidelines because of a bad shoulder injury. He’s walking back into the cage inside Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., against a very dangerous Alex Pereira in a fight for the vacant Light Heavyweight title.

Daniel Cormier doesn’t like his odds given the circumstances.

Indeed, the bookies have Prochazka and Pereira neck-and-neck oddswise at +100 and -120, respectively. But, while breaking down the fight on his ESPN DC & RC show, Cormier wondered whether the time off would be a little too much for “BJP” to overcome.

“He has not been here long, so for him to have been UFC champion in such a short period of time tells you how special of a talent he is,” Cormier said. “But, with him winning as he did, with a lot of frequency that he was in the Octagon, I believe that that consistency helped him to where he was able to get that UFC championship belt.”

Prochazka’s first fight in UFC was a knockout win over Volkan Oezdemir in July 2020 (watch highlights). He then beat Dominick Reyes in May 2021, and then Glover Teixeira for the 205-pound belt in June 2022. In Dec. 2022 he injured his shoulder … and it’s been rehab ever since.

“I think that this layoff is going to hurt him,” Cormier claimed. “But, for Jiri, it’s got to feel like playing with the house’s money because he was supposed to be gone for another four months, 18 months. He got hurt last year. This guy is back in 15 months. They were saying 18 months until he was able to do anything. So, now he’s back fighting for the belt, but I do believe that this ring rust is going to play a factor, especially early.”

“Alex Pereira has been very active,” he added.

He also has some very devastating leg kicks.

Pereira has been busy in comparison. He fought three times in 2022, culminating in his technical knockout of Israel Adesanya for the Middleweight title in Nov. 2022. However, in April 2023, he lost the rematch to “Stylebender,” barely pausing before making his Light Heavyweight debut against Jan Blachowicz in July.

Will his third fight of the year net him another title? All will be made clear under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden this Saturday night.

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