Aleksandar Rakic made his UFC return for the first time since his knee injury against Jan Blachowicz in 2022. He took on the former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka in the prelims of UFC 300. The million-dollar question was how Rakic would look in the fight after not being active for 2 years. Jiri himself was coming off a loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 295 via TKO. So the match-up was quite intriguing.
In round 1 of the bout, Rakic looked absolutely crisp inside the Octagon. From landing some vicious leg kicks to landing some big punches, the Austrian fighter had everything going for him. The leg kicks from Rakic had a significant impact on Jiri’s fight game as it made the former champ much more reckless. The 32-year-old was having a field day on the feet as he was constantly finding Prochazka’s chin with nearly every punch.
A master within the chaos ⚔️@Jiri_BJP gets the TKO victory in round 2! #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/x4kzRWJPzl
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2024
However, the Czech Republic fighter thrives on chaos and that is exactly what he turned the fight into in Round 2. Rakic was sophisticated in his striking and the way he was managing his distance. But, once Jiri pushed the pace, Rakic seemingly ran out of answers and fell prey to the 31-year-old’s wild striking. At the 3:17 minute mark of round 2, Jiri got the job done and stopped his opponent with a TKO. The crowd loved it as well, especially after a dull bout between Aljamain Sterling and Calvin Kattar.
The bout saw Jiri throw 118 strikes in total and he landed 69 of them and all of them were counted as significant strikes. Rakic, on the other hand, attempted 109 strikes and landed 58. It just shows how wild the fight was in just 2 rounds! Perhaps one of the reasons behind Jiri being so pumped up for the fight was Rakic calling him a “fake samurai” during the build-up to UFC 300.
During his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Prochazka addressed the situation too. He added, “I have to say these talks about me, like I’m not samurai, that’s true, I’m not a Samurai. I’m guy from Czech Republic. But we need to live and be inspired by something. And, these samurai ideas is something was inside me.” He further added, “It pushed me more to prove that I’m not a samurai but I’m living with these rules and I believe in myself, in my dreams in my head.”
Jiri Prochazka wants the title fight after UFC 300
Jiri Prochazka has his eyes set on the gold. He became the light heavyweight champion after beating Glover Teixeira at UFC 275. However, an unfortunate shoulder injury forced him to relinquish the title and spend more than a year on the sidelines. “BJP” made his return to the Octagon in November 2023 against Alex Pereira at UFC 295. While his performance was decent, Pereira prevailed that night and stopped Prochazka with strikes.
Now, with the win behind his back against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300, Jiri wants the title shot next. Speaking to Joe Rogan, he added, “I want to face the champion tonight.” He continued, “I want to know who will win today. Let the better win tonight, let the better win, doesn’t matter who.”
JIRI WANTS A TITLE SHOT! 🏆🏆🏆
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) April 14, 2024
Jiří Procházka just had an INCREDIBLE fight with Aleksandar Rakic! #UFC300 | LIVE on TNT Sports & discovery+ pic.twitter.com/GhHFjVLBW0
In the UFC 300, Alex Pereira will defend his title against the former champion Jamahal Hill. If Hill wins, it will be a fresh match-up for the Czech fighter. However, it would be nice to see a rematch between Alex and Jiri as well. What do you want to see next? Let us know in the comments below.
