- Jiri Prochazka returned to victory against Alexander Rakic at UFC 300
- The former champion secured a TKO victory and completed an exciting comeback
- UFC 300 LIVE: Fight card and updates as Alex Pereira takes on Jamahal Hill
Jiri Prochazka made an exciting comeback to submit Alexander Rakic in the second round at UFC 300.
The two European light heavyweight contenders faced off in the preliminary round at Saturday’s star-studded event from Las Vegas.
In his first fight since dropping the title to Alex Pereira in November, Prochazka demonstrated his trademark reckless abandon from the opening bell, guiding the Austrian into the cage.
As Prochazka waded forward, Rakic found his range early in the fight and bombarded the Czech with a series of low kicks that forced him into an unfamiliar southpaw stance.
However, Prochazka’s relentless pressure continued and towards the end of the first he began to achieve more success.
Jiri Prochazka was tagged repeatedly during his UFC 300 clash with Alexander Rakic
But the former light heavyweight champion made a dramatic recovery in Las Vegas
After dropping Rakic with a knee, Prochazka secured a TKO victory, staking his claim for another title shot
As the fighters returned for the second round, Prochazka’s forward momentum began to pay off and he dropped Rakic with a knee before raining down strikes and forcing referee Herb Dean to intervene.
Speaking after the fight, the 31-year-old emphasized that Rakic’s pre-fight comments about his behavior outside the cage had only motivated him during the competition.
‘I have to say he talks about me like I’m not a samurai. It’s true, but I’m just a man and we all need to be inspired by an idea or something.’ He said.
“The fact that he said that made me more motivated to prove that I live by these rules and I believe in myself, in my dreams and want to prove to everyone that I can deliver the best performance of the evening.
“I said it would be the perfect storm, it wasn’t perfect, but it was a storm!”