Jiri Prochazka chose violence on Saturday night at UFC 300.
Despite some early struggles including some nasty calf kicks that definitely affected his movement, Prochazka just kept marching forward and launching bombs until he finally hurt Aleksandar Rakic. Once his opponent was wobbled, Prochazka went for the kill with relentless pressure and punishing shots on the ground until the referee had to rescue Rakic from further harm.
The end of the fight came at 3:17 in the second round as Prochazka bounced back following a loss to Alex Pereira in his last outing.
“I’m not a samurai, I’m a guy from the Czech Republic,” Prochazka said following his win. “These samurai ideas are something inside me.
“No matter who will win tonight in the main event, I want to face the champion. I want to face the champion next time. I’m ready. I want to know who will win. It doesn’t matter who.”
Not typically known as an aggressive fighter, Rakic came out firing against Prochazka with several stiff calf kicks and then chipping away with some well-placed combinations. Rakic blasted Prochazka with another calf kick that forced the former champion to switch stances with some dark bruising already forming on the leg.
With Prochazka struggling to find any real offensive rhythm, Rakic really began measuring his strikes including a couple stiff right hands that landed clean on the chin. Just when it looked like Rakic was in control, Prochazka cracked him with a huge punch that wobbled the Austrian light heavyweight momentarily.
Rakic recovered between rounds and reset before unleashing that same right hand that kept finding a home on Prochazka’s chin. In response, Prochazka decided to just march forward and throw everything in his arsenal at Rakic, who started to wilt under the pressure.
Eventually, Prochazka tagged Rakic with a stinging right hand that left him on rubber legs as he retreated across the octagon just trying to survive. Prochazka pursued him and continued to unload punches in bunches until Rakic crumbled to the canvas.
There was no letting up as Prochazka delivered even more punches from the top and the referee had no choice but to stop the fight with Rakic simply covering his head and offering no signs that he might recover.
The win over another ranked opponent undoubtedly puts Prochazka on a very short list for potential title contenders as he awaits the result in the UFC 300 main event as Pereira battles Jamahal Hill in the final fight on the historic card.
