Comment: We are fighters, let us fight! Theft or the right decision? It doesn’t matter. Prochazka won anyway!

Czech MMA fans sad. Jiri Prochazka failed to make his return to the title picture and Alex Pereira became the UFC light heavyweight champion. But was it really a loss?

Procházka fell, but did he really lose?

An eight-year unbeaten run is over. Few Czech MMA fans could have imagined it at all, but the fact remains that the UFC light heavyweight division has a new champion and the title is unfortunately heading to Brazil.

It was supposed to be the highlight not only of the UFC 295 gala, but also of Czech MMA. After all, all domestic MMA fans have also been waiting for the Czech samurai’s journey back to the top for over a year. But now they feel a strange aftertaste.

When Jiri Prochazka announced a year ago a serious shoulder injury that forced him to relinquish his UFC championship title, he promised to return and bring the championship belt back to the Czech Republic. The stated goal is on hold, at least for now.

Jiri Prochazka fell in his second title fight for the UFC light heavyweight championship belt. Although he dominated the first round, using more accurate striking and dominating the fight on the ground to close the round, he may have gotten carried away with his emotions in the second round and landed a hard punch on the “Brazilian warrior”.

Alex Pereira caught him with a hard left hook that sent Procházka crashing to the ground. He instinctively grabbed his opponent, but hard elbow strikes sent the Czech fighter unconscious for a moment and referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight.

The decision sparked a huge wave of criticism, but the Czech samurai kept his cool

Not only in our country, but also across the world of mixed martial arts the decision caused a huge wave of discussion. A large number of the world’s media and fighters spoke about the early stoppage.

The reaction in the UFC of nine-fight undefeated fighter Merab Dvalishvili speaks for itself. “Bull***t early stoppage! Marc Goddard does it again! We are fighters, let us fight,” he wrote on his Twitter / X.

Perhaps that’s how not only Dvarashvili felt, but also Prochazka himself. Just like most fighters who have ever fought or dreamed of becoming world champion, or fans and experts who have marveled at the Czech samurai’s journey.

Most of the fighters, even though the fight didn’t concern them, lost face and let their emotions go. But not Jiri Prochazka. He acted like a true warrior.

Instead of making excuses for the referee, he acknowledged that I would be out for a while and stopping the fight was fair. Even in such a moment, when his life’s dream fell apart, he kept his face and confirmed that the words about the Czech samurai have their justification.

Only a true fighter can admit defeat and as he said in the post-match interview, it is from life’s losses that one learns best. And as we know Jirka, today’s result is just an obstacle on the way to the top, where he will one day reach again.

An early stoppage?

Of course, many fans now feel disappointed and blame Marc Goddard. But it must be remembered that the referee has to make decisions in seconds, he doesn’t have slow motion and he has a clear job: to protect the health of the fighter.

After watching the fateful moment several times, Jirko’s arms fell off after hard elbows and only the impact back on the floor woke him up from the nightmare and he started an active defense. But by then the match was over.

Of course, the thoughts of whether he could have waited a little longer to give the Czech fighter a chance to get back into the fight were creeping in. For my money, yes, and Goddard will certainly not be sleeping easy. But MMA is a tough sport at this point and while we’ve seen inconsistency in decision making in the past, this unfortunate way of ending is understandable.

No one can control the outcome anymore. But the fact that Prochazka did the right thing confirmed that he won despite officially losing. At least as a man and a real fighter.

Source: UFC