UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira says he will fight Jiri Prochaska again next time.
Pereira will make his first defense of the light heavyweight title after knocking out Jamahal Hill in the first round at UFC 300. After the win, Magomed Ankalaev called out Alex Pereira, and many expected this to be his next fight.
However, during the media scrum at UFC 301, Alex Pereira revealed that his next fighter is Prochakza.
“Breaking news,” Pereira said through an interpreter during the UFC 301 media scrum (h/t MMA Fighting). “If I wait (for the Ankalaev vs. Prochaska fight), I think it will take too long. I would like to fight sooner than that. And as far as we know, I think the next candidate is most likely to be Prochaska. Ankalaev will have to wait a little longer. I know Jamahal Hill is talking nonsense, but he will have to wait a little longer. I think Prochaska is next.
According to Pereira, Prochaska is taking on Ankalaev because he wants the fight to take place as soon as possible, as Ankalaev had called for the fight to be held in Abu Dhabi in October.
“I told them when I wanted to fight,” Pereira said. “Nothing yet about anyone. We don't know either. But they said that because of the time frame, it would probably be Prochaska. But whoever wants to fight, we will accompany them. To do.”
Alex Pereira expects a different Jiri Prochaska
Alex Pereira won the vacant title with a second-round knockout against Jiri Prochaska at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in November.
It's been less than a year since Pereira fought Prochaska, but expect him to be a very different version of the Czech native.
“I don't think he'll emerge as a much different fighter because he's had over 20 fights compared to me who evolved in a few MMA fights,” Pereira said. “He's been fighting for a long time. I think every fighter reaches a point where they start to evolve less and less because of the mileage they get from fighting and the amount of experience they have in this game. So I'm more excited about him than he was last time. I think it will evolve further from the fight.”
For a shot at the title, Prochaska defeated Aleksandar Rakic by knockout at UFC 300.
