The rest of the world might think of Jiri Prochazka’s victory in UFC 275 as a “Fight of the Year”, but he considers it a warning story to be addressed.
The fact that Prochazka is now the UFC light heavyweight champion after presenting Glover Teixeira in the final round of Saturday’s main event is not a consolation for a performance that was much harder than it should have been.
“It was, from my side, a horrible fight, a horrible performance,” Prochazka told the post-fight press conference at UFC 275 in Singapore. “Honestly. You saw that fight. At some point, I survived.
“My plan, not plan, shit … not plan. The plan of my life is to be dominant in the fight and not just to be a survivor. To be a hunter, and that will be my next fight, and I will prove it. I want to fight like that. It’s hard, it’s full of blood and it’s not pretty, maybe it’s nice for you, you like to be entertained. But for a fighter, I like to fight clean. “
The momentum changed so many times in the bloody struggle that at many times it was difficult to know who was winning. What was not hard to understand was how much Prochazka was losing. Several punctual punches led him to skate in the championship rounds, and if it weren’t for the sudden urge to fight, Teixeira could have ended the fight.
This is the unforgivable part of the new champion.
“I had to give 100 percent,” he said. “Maybe I’m glad about that. That fight was tough and it wasn’t easy.”
Part of Prochazka’s strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks.
During a specific stretch, Teixeira had him mounted and was punching him. He mocked the champion in response.
“Very nice, very nice, but still nothing,” he said of his reaction to Teixeira’s shots. “I wanted to show him his floor and his pound, he didn’t have the power to end me in there. But he had enough power to open up to me, and that was really bad and it was right after that to smile at him.” .
The opening was a cut that deeply cut Prochazka’s forehead and bled generously during the fight.
“I said to myself,‘ Okay, it’s not time to have fun anymore, ’” he said.
Prochazka knew the strengths Teixeira brought to the table, and then shook his head that it wasn’t enough.
“We knew all these things, what he had to do, and he was successful at that,” he said. “F ***. So I have to work on this, not just work on training, but work on myself to stop doing things that aren’t good in a fight. You just have to do things that are effective for Defeating the opponent. I think that was the big mistake. “
It is a mistake that Prochazka intends to fix when he returns to the octagon. A replay with Teixeira could be seen, as well as a meeting with former champion Jan Blachowicz, who faced him after his victory. It’s okay with any opponent; the important thing is that he is a little smarter when he defends the belt.
As exciting as he is shooting from the hip, Prochazka doesn’t want to leave the octagon so broken.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Glover or Jan, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “For the next fight, I swear I’ll be another fighter. Not like that. It wasn’t a good performance for me.