There's an aura of magic about light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira's meteoric rise to UFC fame with a string of knockouts — and his next opponent, Jiri Prochazka, believes that magic might literally exist.
Prochaska, who was knocked out by Pereira in their first bout in November, said the former Brazilian kickboxing world champion performed shamanic rituals before each fight in order to win.
“We all know he works with shamans back home. He believes in spiritual help from shamans. I do too, but I don't believe in magic, I believe in the best human performance in the here and now,” Prochazka told reporters ahead of their rematch at UFC 303 on Saturday.
“Now, that's my challenge to him: Can we fight this in a clear way without pulling any punches?”
Pereira, who has 10 professional mixed martial arts wins, eight of which have come by knockout, dismissed Prochazka's comments during his pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
“I think everyone has a soul. We don't just live in our bodies. It's not my fault if he hasn't found his soul yet,” he said.
Pre-fight rituals are not uncommon for UFC fighters: former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz famously discovered a man's body in the woods after hanging, and touched the rope the man had used for good luck.
Conor McGregor, who was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler on Saturday but withdrew due to injury, has been known to pack his grandfather's hat in his bag before fights, while Brandon Vera has done so twice.
“This isn't a question of what I believe,” Prochazka said. “I'm 100 percent confident.”
