In a UFC 295 main event, it seemed to observers that fighter Jiri Prochazka deserved a bit more recovery time in his match against Alex Pereira. Prochazka was knocked off balance by a short left hook from his opponent in the second round of the match. Reacting to the hit, the Czech Republic native attempted a takedown. Pereira countered this move with a series of hard elbows to the side of Prochazka’s head, which resulted in Prochazka toppling backward onto the canvas with Pereira on top of him.
It was at this point that Marc Goddard, a veteran official, decided to discontinue the light heavyweight title bout at the 4:08 mark of Round 2. Although Prochazka appeared still to be scrambling in an attempt to defend himself, the call had been made and the match was over. While some fans and commentators thought the ending was premature, Prochazka addressed the issue on Instagram in an attempt to settle the potential controversy surrounding the match’s conclusion.
Prochazka stated in his video post, “Hello everyone, I just want to say to all of you thank you for your support. This is for me just motivation. Nothing else.” He went on to say, “Marc Goddard was right. Maybe two or three more seconds and it would be 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.”
This had been Prochazka’s first appearance in the Octagon since he gained the light heavyweight title with a fifth-round submission of Glover Teixeira at UFC 275 in June of 2022. He had to vacate the belt when he sustained a severe shoulder injury during training for his first title defense at UFC 282. The defeat by Pereira broke a 13-match winning streak for the former Rizin Fighting Federation champion.