{"id":194501,"date":"2025-10-07T02:21:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T02:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/194501\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T02:21:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T02:21:04","slug":"jiri-prochazka-explains-emotional-reaction-to-alex-pereiras-ufc-320-win-over-magomed-ankalaev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/194501\/","title":{"rendered":"Jiri Prochazka explains emotional reaction to Alex Pereira’s UFC 320 win over Magomed Ankalaev"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Proch\u00e1zka had no intention of storming the cage and stealing the spotlight after UFC 320\u2019s main event concluded on Saturday in Las Vegas. After delivering another unforgettable moment with his epic knockout of Khalil Rountree Jr., the Czech contender simply wanted to watch how the rest of the division\u2019s title picture unfolded, with Alex Pereira ultimately reclaiming his belt against Magomed Ankalaev<\/a> in a bout that gave Prochazka plenty to think about.<\/p>\n

In a uniquely personal moment, Pereira\u2019s quick 80-second knockout of Ankalaev appeared to nearly bring his two-time rival to tears, as Proch\u00e1zka was caught on camera seemingly holding back his emotions after the finish. Proch\u00e1zka revealed on Monday\u2019s edition of \u201cThe Ariel Helwani Show\u201d<\/a> that his viral reaction did indeed stem from Pereira’s performance, but also from his own goals becoming clearer.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere was no bad wish or whatever,\u201d Proch\u00e1zka told Uncrowned. \u201cI just, like every time, want to see the best fight. Let the better [man] win. But inside myself, maybe I wished more [that] Alex [would win] because all this bulls*** with what Ankalaev said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proch\u00e1zka’s comments refer to several online back-and-forths with Ankalaev and his camp this past year. Although the two haven\u2019t shared the Octagon, Proch\u00e1zka didn\u2019t forget what he considered to be needless trash talk since Ankalaev won the title in March. Still, Proch\u00e1zka emphasized that he wasn\u2019t invested in seeing anyone lose \u2014 only that the situation offered a clearer picture of where he stands in the division.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that I was so happy Alex won or Ankalaev lost,\u201d Proch\u00e1zka said. \u201cI was so emotional because, in that moment, I really realized that Pereira won and there is a potential fight between me and him. That means there is a third fight. Third chance for me to be successful. I deeply realized, ‘Man, this is something you have to win, or nothing.’ That will be the biggest challenge of my life.<\/p>\n

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“F***, man, I really want to win. I know I\u2019m taking a lot of risks in my fights, but I know I will find a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proch\u00e1zka has already faced Pereira twice in title bouts in the past, most recently in June 2024 at UFC 303. In both instances, Pereira won by knockout. While those results leave Proch\u00e1zka at an expected disadvantage in a hypothetical trilogy, “BJP” remains one of the few fighters to have consistently pushed Pereira in extended exchanges. Watching the champion defend and reclaim the belt in the time since their fights only reaffirmed what\u2019s still possible, Proch\u00e1zka said \u2014 the chance to get a win in their rivalry.<\/p>\n

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Proch\u00e1zka relationship with the now-former champ, however, remains strained. Proch\u00e1zka said despite a polite in-person exchange with Ankalaev at the UFC Performance Institute, he hasn\u2019t forgotten what was said online.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t like to speak with him, because he has to be responsible for all his tweets,\u201d Proch\u00e1zka said. \u201cEven when I met him in the UFC P.I., and he said ‘hi’ like normal \u2014 all my team just watched him, what he just did. He tried to say hello like nothing, like there wasn\u2019t anything what he wrote on Twitter. Then I really realized, maybe it\u2019s all these guys around him \u2014 I don\u2019t know if his manager or who wrote these tweets, all these bulls***s. He\u2019s like a normal sportsman, but the guys around him, they do this dirty work.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore [the] Khalil Rountree [fight], I was already prepared to go to his manager or to Ankalaev, and tell him, \u2018What the f*** was this s*** what you spoke about? Why? Why you did that? I didn\u2019t attack you with anything. So why you spoke this bulls***?\u2019 And my coach told me to really calm down, ‘Our fight is Khalil Rountree right now, and let\u2019s be focused just for this one. Don\u2019t be focused for anybody else.’ So I just kept that and I\u2019m happy I did that. I don\u2019t like to be focused [on] anyone else before the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proch\u00e1zka\u2019s win over Rountree earned him an additional $100,000 paycheck in UFC post-fight bonuses \u2014 he took both Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night honors. On top of that, the former champion believes he\u2019s earned a spot back in title contention. For Proch\u00e1zka, a championship opportunity makes the most sense next in his mind \u2014 no matter who stands across from him.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI really want to fight for the title. I don\u2019t care who will be my opponent,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not locked on just one thing. But let that be whoever \u2014 I believe I will go through them.<\/p>\n

“There was a possibility to fight for the title in June with Ankalaev, and I declined it because of [attending] university [for my master’s degree]. And right now, I won my last fight with Khalil. So right now, I believe logically there is a chance to go for the title [next].\u201d<\/p>\n

Before he landed the Rountree matchup, Proch\u00e1zka also recalled receiving an offer for a potential bout with fellow top contender Carlos Ulberg, which ultimately fell through. As a result, Ulberg recently continued his own run of success when he took on Dominick Reyes at UFC Perth<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n

Ulberg\u2019s first-round starching of Reyes extended his win streak to nine and put him as the frontrunner to compete for light heavyweight gold. Yet despite both Ulberg and Proch\u00e1zka sitting atop the contender list, Pereira expressed an interest moving to heavyweight<\/a> after his UFC 320 win. If that happens and Pereira vacates his title, Proch\u00e1zka won’t be opposed to a collision with Ulberg for a vacant belt.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter my final exams in June, there was an offer for Ulberg in Australia. I accept that,\u201d Proch\u00e1zka said. \u201cHe declined that because of \u2014 I don\u2019t know, whatever. Then, I accept Rountree, and in the same time, he accepted Reyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to choose my opponent. I already confirmed Ulberg, then I confirmed Rountree \u2014 so for me, right now, if you want to be the champion, you have to go through everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Proch\u00e1zka had no intention of storming the cage and stealing the spotlight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[11159,64,63,29449,786,60150,107451,25361,785,85,787,94360],"class_list":{"0":"post-194501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-alex-pereira","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-carlos-ulberg","12":"tag-fighting","13":"tag-jiri-prochazka","14":"tag-khalil-rountree","15":"tag-magomed-ankalaev","16":"tag-mma","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-ufc","19":"tag-ufc-performance-institute"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}