Jiri Prochazka finds himself at a career crossroads.
For the second time in a little over half a year, the Czech former UFC light heavyweight champion had his lights shut out by reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira — the two-division standout who has carved out a Hall of Fame worthy career just two-and-a-half years into his tenure with the world’s largest mixed martial arts organisation.
And with his path to 205-pound gold now presumably blocked as long as Pereira holds the crown, Prochazka has admitted that he needs to make some decisions over the next phase of his career.
⚡️🙏⚡️
//\\ pic.twitter.com/LqbiaMQUb4— Jiri BJP Prochazka (@jiri_bjp) June 30, 2024
“Hello everyone, thank you for all your support,” Prochaka said in a video statement posted to social media.
“Thanks to you, Alex, for the fight. You [fought] better. And only one thing goes on my mind, that I need to evolve to the next level or don’t fight again. So simple, to be the strongest, this is the way. Thank you. See you in the gym.”
Prochazka’s stark admission comes as the 31-year-old suffered just the fifth loss of his 36-fight career, and after he was placed into the UFC 303 main event fight on around two weeks’ notice after original headliner Conor McGregor was unable to compete against Michael Chandler after sustaining a foot injury in training.
Since his UFC debut in July 2020, Prochazka has gone 4-2 with the organisation — defeating Volkan Oezdemir, Dominick Reyes, Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic. His sole two defeat with the UFC have come be second round knockout against Pereira.
