White Reacts To Jiri Stoppage, Reveals Pereira’s Next Fight

Former middleweight champion Alex Pereira captured the vacant light heavyweight strap by defeating former 205-pound titleholder Jiri Prochazka in the UFC 295 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last Sat. night (Nov. 11, 2023) at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Fans were lambasting referee Marc Goddard for what appeared to be an early stoppage (watch the highlights here), but Prochazka later admitted it was the right call.

“I think in the end, it was right, I was out,” Prochazka said during his post-fight interview.

That was good enough for UFC CEO Dana White.

“If [Prochazka] says it’s not [an early stoppage] then it’s definitely not,” White told reporters at the UFC 295 post-fight press conference.

The light heavyweight title was vacated after division champion, Jamahal Hill, tore his achilles tendon back in July. White expects “Sweet Dreams” to get first crack at “Poatan” when Hill returns to action in early-to-mid 2024.

“I don’t know about all time great, but it’s incredibly impressive what [Pereira has] done in a short amount of time,” White said. “Jamahal Hill, when he’s ready, is the fight that makes sense.”

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