‘Marc Goddard Was Right’

Prochazka doesn’t fault the referee in his UFC 295 title fight against Alex Pereira for stopping their bout too early.

Jiri Prochazka has released a statement following his disappointing (and slightly controversial) loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 295.

Referee Marc Goddard stopped the light heavyweight title fight with 50 seconds left in the second round. Pereira had dropped Prochazka on the feet and then elbowed him into oblivion during a takedown attempt (watch the highlights here). There was a lot of criticism about the stoppage at the time, especially from other UFC fighters. It looked a bit early, which is a heartbreaking way to lose an important fight.

Prochazka himself took to the mic following the stoppage to say “I think in the end, it was right. I was out.”

He’s keeping that same energy in this latest statement made on Instagram.

“Hello everyone, I just want to say to all of you: thank you for your support,” he said. “This is for me just a motivation. Nothing else.”

“Marc Goddard was right,” he continued. “Maybe two, three more second and it would be on a different way. But what happened happened. I accept that.”

“Watch me now. I’ll be back. Stronger than ever. Thank you for the support.”

Prochazka also shared some motivational quotes through his Stories.

“There’s no success without hardship,” one read. Another said “Without suffering, there is no creation.”

Prochazka hadn’t fought since a wild Fight of the Year candidate against Glover Teixeira in June 2022. That fight earned him the light heavyweight title, but a serious shoulder injury led to him relinquishing the title. He didn’t look bad against Pereira after a year and a half out of action — maybe he needs to work on his leg checking, but it was a competitive scrap.

Hopefully “Denisa” ends up back in the cage soon, and on his path to redemption.