Jiri Prochazka Believes He Can Beat Alex Pereira in Trilogy Fight

Jiri Prochazka is confident he can become a UFC champ once more.

Prochazka takes on Jamahal Hill at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles in a high stakes light heavyweight matchup. “BJP” initially won the title against Glover Teixeira in 2022 but vacated it months later due to a shoulder injury. He faced Teixeira’s protege, Alex Pereira, for the vacant title at UFC 295 in 2023, when he suffered a second-round TKO loss. While he bounced back with a stoppage win over Aleksandar Rakic, the Czech has since dropped his rematch against “Poatan” at UFC 303 in June 2024.

However, Prochazka claims to have since made significant changes in his lifestyle, which could propel him towards a third title fight with Pereira.

“I said that many times, and I mean that very seriously,” Prochazka told MMAjunkie.com. “Everything that I say, I mean very seriously. I believe that I’ve made improvements to my style, to my life, in everything so I can face Alex Pereira a third time. I really believe that. I believe that I can be the champion, and I’m going for that – to be the champion again. No more words.”

While Prochazka is known to follow the samurai Bushido code, Hill is rather vocal with his pre-fight trash talk. However, “Denisa” is only focused on portraying his style of fighting to the world going into UFC 311.

“I just want to be myself – that’s all,” he said. “That’s what I want to show the world: The best version of myself, the best version of my kind, of how I see the martial arts, of my kind of style of fighting. This is what I want to share. This is what I want to show to the world – that I’m the best. I’ve made the improvements that I can be at the top, champion again. This is it.”