Boxing World Joins Former Champion as Alex Pereira Finishes “Killer” Jiri Prochazka With Broken Toes on Short Notice at UFC 303

Alex Pereira stunned the combat sports community with yet another knockout finish at UFC 303. Stepping up on short notice, after UFC superstar Conor McGregor dropped out of the main event due to a toe injury, ‘Poatan’ took Jiri Prochazka to task as soon as the fight started. After a couple of kicks to the calf and body shots to destabilize his opponent, Pereira ended the first round with a powerful hook that knocked Jiri down to the canvas. Dazed by the powerful strike, ‘BJP’ came back out in the second round only to be flattened by a devastating head kick from the Brazilian kickboxer. Pereira followed it up with a couple of hammer punches, and that was all the Czech MMA fighter could withstand for the night. Prochazka’s strikes couldn’t faze Pereira in the first round. And there was even a takedown attempt from him against the fence, which was easily defended by the Brazilian fighter. But, that was all Jiri could manage!

Both fighters had already met each other in the Octagon once before. And the result was very similar to what happened tonight. A second-round TKO finish over Jiri made Poatan the light-heavyweight champion. This is Pereira’s third straight win via a knockout since he made his light heavyweight debut in November last year.

But, is the Brazilian happy just being the two-division champion? The 11-2 fighter, has swept through the middleweight and light-heavyweight division. As such, fans desperately want him to go up to heavyweight and challenge the GOAT Jon Jones. But, in the post-fight interview, he expressed his hesitation to move up, wanting to defend his light-heavyweight belt a couple of more times before making the leap.

“Man, for heavyweight, it’s something I gotta do preparation, I gotta be prepared so I don’t know for next step right now. You guys saw I took this fight on two week’s notice, for heavyweight gotta be more planned so right now, I’m just focused on defending my title,” Pereira said in his post-match interview.

Ever since his loss to former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, he has been on an amazing run, having four straight wins. With nine KOs in thirteen fights, he has proved to be an elite striker in the UFC.

With yet another stunning performance, ‘Poatan’ has been successfully able to defend his light-heavyweight title for the second time. Interesting fact: none of his fights in the light heavyweight division have gone the distance. He is a force to reckon with, and the boxing world agrees with this assessment.

Poatan KO shocks the boxing world!

The former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu is an admirer of Poatan’s knockout power. Following the fight’s conclusion at UFC 303, Jiri took a lot of time to recover from the head kick as he required assistance to get back on his feet. And, ‘BJP’s’ legs were really wobbly!

Another fan wanted Tszyu to ask the Brazilian, the secret behind such a devastating left hook. Even in tonight’s fight against Jiri, it was a hook from Pereira that did the most damage, setting it up perfectly for the head-lick finisher. Even in the last encounter between the two in November, the mythical left hook did the trick.

One fan lauded ‘Poatan’ for taking the fight on just two weeks’ notice, and that too with a broken toe. With so many factors weighing him down, he still defended his light-heavyweight title against a ‘killer’ like Prochazka who is a renowned finisher himself with 26 TKOs in 36 fights.

Another fan was complementary of Tszyu’s resilience in his last fight against Sebastian Fundora where he received a bad cut on his head. Although he lost the fight and his titles, Tszyu went the full ten rounds even though the blood coming out of his gash impaired his vision. A feat, the fan thinks Pereira won’t be able to replicate.

What do you think of Pereira’s performance against Jiri Prochazka? Do you think the Brazilian should make the jump to heavyweight? Let us know in the comments below.