Tag: Jiri Prochazka

Jiri Prochazka open to facing winner of Jan Blachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg at UFC London

Jiri Prochazka will have his eyes peeled for the UFC Fight Night 255 co-main event.

[autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] will have his eyes peeled for the UFC Fight Night 255 co-main event.

[autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] (29-10-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) meets rising contender [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in a pivotal light heavyweight clash Saturday at The O2 (ESPN+).

Originally eyeing a title shot next, Prochazka’s plans pivoted after all signs are pointing to a title-fight rematch between champion Magomed Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) and Alex Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC).

Prochazka (31-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC), who’s coming off a knockout of Jamahal Hill at UFC 311 in January, wants to stay busy and thinks the winner of Blachowicz vs. Ulberg makes sense for him next.

“I’m just looking for a good fight,” Prochazka told The Schmo. “But after today’s information, like Alex and Ankalaev, they’re already confirmed their fight. I don’t want to just stay and watch them and wait for the winner. Maybe I will fight with one of these guys with the winner from Saturday night. So let’s see who will be the winner. Let the better (man) win.”

After three title defenses over Jamahal Hill, Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree, Pereira  lost his light heavyweight title to Ankalaev by unanimous decision at UFC 313. Prochazka has no issues with “Poatan” getting an immediate rematch.

“I think for Alex, it’s right,” Prochazka said. “He has to have the first chance to – he deserves that, to fight against the champion right after. But still, I think he needs a little bit of time to refresh himself and take a little bit of time to upgrade his style, upgrade a few things, and win the battle.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 255.

Jiri Prochazka after UFC 313: ‘The only fraud person here is Magomed Ankalaev’

Jiri Prochazka doesn’t appreciate UFC champion Magomed Ankalaev going off on him.

[autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] doesn’t appreciate UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] going off on him.

Prochazka (31-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) congratulated Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) for his title-winning performance against Alex Pereira in Saturday’s UFC 313 main event, and initially issued “Poatan” a challenge. He then changed his tune and said it’s a better idea to go straight for the title.

Ankalaev was pretty hostile in his response.

“I think you are a fraud and so many guys deserve it more than you you need to go win some fights.”

“His mouth, what he’s saying is something that, I don’t like it,” Prochazka said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I don’t like it. I like all the people except him. But he’s too much, too much. His last tweet on me, he doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know me. I don’t know him personally. One thing that I can say to Ankalaev: He can think whatever he wants, but I know that the only person who is a fraud is him.

“Because when I met him at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, he was there. He was very nice, friendly, ‘Hello, nice to meet you. All good?’ And right now, he’s a superstar, big gangster and playing these games. He is hyped, and I understand. He won the title against the worst performance of Alex Pereira. The only fraud here is Magomed Ankalaev.”

Ankalaev went on to call Prochazka a terrible fighter. Prochazka was able to rebound from his title loss to Pereira by knocking out former champ Jamahal Hill at UFC 311.

“Worst fighter? Every time I’m giving everything into my fights, going to finish my opponents and to give it my all,” Prochazka responded. “Not like him. When he’s fighting, he’s many times in the second or third rounds. When there’s a high performance, he’s trying to run away from the performance, from the aggressive attacks.

“So, that gives me only one meaning. The only fraud person here is Magomed Ankalaev. I don’t care about this guy. I just want to go and catch the title. Right now he’s a champion. But nobody respects that he’s a champion.”

Ankalaev added one final jab towards Prochazka for suffering two knockout losses to Pereira in title fights.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.

Jiri Prochazka’s ‘This one time, at band camp’ moment

Jiri, sometimes it’s best to just leave things up to the imagination of the audience.

[autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag], sometimes, it’s best to just leave things up to the collective imagination of the audience.

Under most circumstances, we’d use TBC to be snarky and spunky. It’s the one space we give ourselves the leeway to feed ya a load, so to speak – the less-serious stuff. Not this time.

So in this case, we’ll present, without comment (OK, without MUCH comment), an interview moment (H/T @mmamarcuss on social media) with UFC light heavyweight Jiri Prochazka and “The Schmo.”

The hard-hitting chat went down after UFC 311 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles.

OK. Draw your own interpretations, of course. But like Jiri says, “Everybody’s parties … look like … something … we are really … again … it sounds like … weird … so … it doesn’t matter for me.”

Really, could he be more right – regardless of what he felt the need to try to awkwardly explain away?

All we know is, he and his two childhood friends from back home in Czech Republic totally were … well … ya know … again … everybody’s parties look like something, right?

Lest we remind you, Prochazka (31-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was coming off a third-round TKO of Jamahal Hill (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) just hours earlier at UFC 311. The win showered him with an extra $50,000 bonus.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

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Digesting UFC 311 fallout: Jiri Prochazka knocks out Jamahal Hill, Payton Talbott’s first loss, more

What to make of the UFC 311 results outside the two title fights? We discuss Jiri Prochazka’s big win and more on “Spinning Back Clique.”

UFC 311 was the host of many important and key results for several of the UFC’s divisions.

From heavyweight to all the way down to 125 pounds, the first UFC pay-per-view of 2015 saw plenty of big moments. Former UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] knocked out [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] in brutal fashion, top heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida stopped [autotag]Sergei Spiva[/autotag] in the first round, highly-touted bantamweight prospect [autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag] suffered his first professional defeat in a big upset, and much more.

So, what’s next for the winners and losers? How much did they advance or get set back with their respective results?

MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and host Gorgeous George discuss some of the key results of UFC 311 outside the main and co-main event championship bouts.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube or in podcast form.

https://youtube.com/live/xkFxuHJDreg

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Overreaction Time: Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili in control? Jiri Prochazka is back? More!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” on the fallout from UFC 311, Jon Jones’ negotiations with the UFC, and more.

The time for overreacting is here!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie reporter Farah Hannoun debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:

  • Now is the PERFECT time for [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] to leave the UFC lightweight division.
  • [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] is primed to remain UFC bantamweight champion for all of 2025.
  • [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] has new life as a UFC title contender, but it’s over for [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag].
  • If the UFC signs only one of these guys, it should be [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] over [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag].
  • There’s no way the UFC pays [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] $30 million to fight Tom Aspinall.
  • [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]’s chances of being UFC champion are still alive.

Watch the full episode in the video above.

Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: Islam Makhachev, Merab Dvalishvili defend titles at UFC 311, Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev, more

On “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel discusses the results from UFC 311, including Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili’s big wins, and much more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] and [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] retained their championship belts Saturday in the headlining bouts of UFC 311. Makhachev submitted [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] to defend his UFC lightweight belt for a fourth time, and Dvalishvili outpointed [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] to complete his first title defense. We react and discuss what’s next for the four men involved in the main and co-main event of UFC 311.
  • Plenty happened at UFC 311 outside the two championship fights. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] knocked out fellow former champion Jamahal Hill to bounce back from his stoppage loss to Alex Pereira; [autotag]Reinier de Ridder[/autotag] quickly submitted Kevin Holland; and [autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag] suffered his first professional loss to veteran [autotag]Roani Barcelos[/autotag]. We review some of the key results at UFC 311.
  • UFC 313 has its main and co-main event fights. The promotion announced on Saturday the booking of [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag], and [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag]. We react to these bookings and give our early pcisk for the bout.
  • The free agent market got a lot more interesting this past week. Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] was granted her release from the promotion and is looking to keep fighting in MMA – while also picking back up boxing. Additionally, ex-Bellator champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] and top Bellator contender [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] were let go from the PFL. We discuss the potential future for these stars.

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If the commentary team is still raggin’ on Jiri Prochazka after UFC 311: ‘F*ck them’

Jiri Prochazka heard a little rumor in some circles that he keeps his hands down too much.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] heard a little rumor in some circles that he keeps his hands down too much.

It cost him in his losses to light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, some surmised. And some of those some, Prochazka has heard, happen to be on the UFC’s commentary team.

At UFC 311 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+) on Saturday at Intuit Dome, if Prochazka (31-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) did keep his hands down too much against Jamahal Hill (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC), it didn’t wind up making a difference. He finished Hill with a third-round TKO and took home a $50,000 bonus.

He also put himself in position to question what other move he has next except another crack at Pereira – though the champ just booked a UFC 313 main event against new challenger Magomed Ankalaev.

But if there still is criticism of his hands, Prochazka has a playful message after he said he went out of his way to keep them up against Hill.

“F*ck them. I worked on that so much,” Prochazka said at his post-fight news conference after he was told the broadcast team – Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier – made mention of it. “(People) messaged me every day: ‘You have to keep your hands up.’ So OK, I will do that for this fight. I will keep the hands up, especially for this night.

“(I keep my hand down because) I believe in my senses. I believe in my feeling in a fight – in my head movement. That’s why I can keep the hands down. To be honest, in the last fight with Alex, I was a little bit too (OK keeping my) hands down. So this is something I’ve worked on. I want to see the video from the fight (against Hill), because I believe that I (kept my hands up).”

When Prochazka isn’t fighting Pereira, all he does is win fights – and win bonuses. He has bonuses in all five of his UFC wins – including a double-$50K night against Dominick Reyes. That one got him a shot at then-champ Glover Teixeira, and he finished him at UFC 275 to win the title.

He had to vacate it with an injury, and when he came back, it was against Pereira and he came up short. Seven months and another win (and bonus) later, he came up short again. It seems debatable whether the UFC will want to keep him on deck for a third shot at Pereira so soon after the last one.

But that’s the fight he thinks he deserves, and he thinks things finally would be different in a trilogy bout.

“I believe right now what we have with my team with the preparation,” Prochazka said. “What we are right now doing with my attitude, what I can take to the octagon, to really enjoy the moment, really enjoy my calm in the octagon to push it to another level – this is why I’m doing that. I’m enjoying the process.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

UFC 311 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Renato Moicano makes money with move up card

Renato Moicano made some extra cash under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program for stepping into a title fight at UFC 311.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 311 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $306,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 311 took place at Intuit Dome. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews/Disney+/FX and ESPN+.

The full UFC 311 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]: $6,000
def [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Reinier de Ridder[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Azamat Bekoev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Zach Reese[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Bogdan Guskov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Billy Elekana[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Muin Gafurov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Bernardo Sopaj[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ricky Turcios[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2025 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $479,500
2024 total: $8,280,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $31,497,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

UFC 311 bonuses: Freshly shorn Jiri Prochazka lands extra $50,000 for late finish

The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to a former champion looking for another crack at the belt.

The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to a former champion looking for another crack at the belt.

After UFC 311, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Los Angeles. Check out the winners below.

Performance of the Night: Jailton Almeida

Jailton Almeida def. Serghei Spivac via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:53

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) got his second straight first-round finish when he took out Serghei Spivac (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC). The bonus was Almeida’s fourth in the UFC, but first in nearly two years – when he had a stretch of three straight bonus-winning fights.

Performance of the Night: Jiri Prochazka

Jiri Prochazka def. Jamahal Hill via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:01

Former light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] (31-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) went to deep waters with fellow ex-champ Jamahal Hill (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC), but eventually took him out with a TKO. He has two losses to champ Alex Pereira already, but put himself into the conversation for an eventual crack at him again.

Fight of the Night: Merab Dvalishvili def. Umar Nurmagomedov

Merab Dvalishvili def. Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)

In a classic back-and-forth battle, [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) defended his bantamweight title with a decision win over [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC). The loss was the first of Nurmagomedov’s career and an upset.

UFC 311 results: Jiri Prochazka ends entertaining scrap with TKO of Jamahal Hill

At UFC 311, Jiri Prochazka was in his element.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – At UFC 311, [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] was in his element.

With the crowd at Intuit Dome clearly on his side, Prochazka got back to his old ways as he scored a third-round knockout of [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] to conclude an entertaining scrap between the former light heavyweight champions.

Hill was up against it from the moment he made his way to the cage as the L.A. fans booed him mercilessly – even as he walked out to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” Once the fight started, he was even more up against it.

Both men found success exchanging hands in the first round, but Prochazka (31-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) had the biggest moment when he beat Hill (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) to the punch with a hard left hand that knocked him down. After the first round, Hill’s nose was bleeding and his eye swelled up from the damage he took.

The second round got a little funky thanks to two eye pokes – one by each guy – causing a referee breaks to recover. After the second one, which was to Prochazka, he reached a flow state bouncing, feinting and landing shots. Still, Hill put up enough of a fight that Prochazka’s nose bled at the end of the round.

A portent of what was to come opened the final frame when Prochazka stunned Hill in the first minute with a right hand that him on the defensive. And it also had Prochazka thinking of a finish, which he eventually got after a hard punch dropped him, allowing him to swarm for the win.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 311 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.