Jiri
Prochazka has hurled a rather fascinating accusation at
Alex
Pereira.
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Prochazka and Pereira agreed to a short notice title rematch in the
main event at UFC 303 on Saturday after Conor
McGregor pulled out of his scheduled matchup against Michael
Chandler due to a toe injury.
The two initially traded leather at UFC 295 in November 2023, when
Pereira scored a second-round knockout over Prochazka, which could
have been considered an early stoppage. Pereira has since defended
strap with a brutal-first round KO win over Jamahal
Hill at UFC 300 this past April. However, this stoppage was
also marred with controversy due a unique sequence leading up to
the finish. Pereira brushed off an accidental low blow from Hill
and stopped referee Herb Dean from
pausing the action moments before putting “Sweet Dreams” to sleep.
Hill accused Pereira of capitalizing on the awkward sequence to set
up his victory.
Judging by what Prochazka has seen of Pereira against himself and
Hill, “BJP” believes the Brazilian uses “spiritual help” to win
fights. The Czech Republic native even doubts Pereira’s ability to
win fights without the help of shamans from his hometown. While
Prochazka admits that he also believes in magic, he wants to win
solely based on “human performance.”
“I think he believes in help of spiritual things. And that’s
something I think he can’t fight without, because I want to keep
that in a clear line. Just the sport performance, pure performance,
man versus man. And I think he [doesn’t] know [how] to fight
without that because he used these things every time. So, I think
right now, I’m looking forward for that,” Prochazka said on
“The MMA Hour.”
“Everybody knows he is working with some Shamanics, with some
Shamans, from his like ‘hometown,’ and he believes in some
spiritual help from them. I believe too, but I believe in the best
performance, in the human performance right here right now, without
no magic. And let’s see if Alex still be work like that, because
it’s working. But I believe in a clear way, and I will do that and
I want to win by that way.”