Jiri Prochazka has found success with his unpredictable fighting style, but is the bubble about to burst?
Prochazka has a chance to become a two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion on Saturday. He’ll meet Carlos Ulberg for the vacant gold in the main event of UFC 327. Some are wondering if Prochazka’s unpredictability will be enough to halt the streaking Ulberg.
Former UFC fan favorite Matt Brown had that same question during an episode of MMAFighting‘s “The Fighter vs. The Writer.”
“Jiri, you just never really know what to expect,” Brown said. “I think my biggest question with Jiri that I’ve had for a long time and I’m going to keep having — you can’t play around with non-fundamentals forever. At some point, that starts to catch up with you. I think we’ve seen that a little bit with Israel Adesanya, and we’ve seen it with Anderson Silva. It’s like the Naseem Hamed, when he wins it looks f*cking amazing. God that’s wild, it’s amazing you did that! [But] you can’t do it when you’re 45 years old. Fight in the way that Jiri does.”
Brown went a step further by saying he doesn’t believe Prochazka has evolved much.
“It’s good to evolve, too,” Brown said. “He could always have that part of him as part of his game. I don’t mean to be the critic — he’s accomplished more than I did in my career — but I don’t see where it lasts and I don’t see where he’s evolved much at all. He’s just done more of the same.”
Since making his way to the UFC banner, Prochazka has only suffered two losses. Both of those defeats were against Alex Pereira, who has been on a Hall of Fame run. Time will tell if Prochazka can become a two-time UFC titleholder to further add to his own legacy.
Do you think Jiri Prochazka’s wild fighting style is sustainable? Let us know in the comments below.