Former light heavyweight Jiri Prochazka got back in the win column in tremendous style at UFC 311.
Alex Pereira knocked him out cold when they clashed for 205lb gold at UFC 303 in June 2024.
‘Poatan’ also slept Jamahal Hill in his last fight, which headlined Dana White’s huge UFC 300 show last April.
Jiri Prochazka and Hill threw down for the chance to face Pereira again at UFC 311 on Saturday night.
Jiri Prochazka knocks out Jamahal Hill
The two fighters intensely stared each other down before Bruce Buffer did the introductions.
At one point, referee Mike Beltran had to step in and stop them from starting the bout early.
When they were actually allowed to punch each other, there was a two-minute feeling-out period where both men were extremely twitchy.
Eventually, the contest burst into life with a Prochakza knockdown that ignited a firefight that made it a toss-up between the former light heavyweight champions.
At the end of round one, it was clear who got the better of it as Hill had a bloodied nose, a swollen eye, and appeared to be breathing with his mouth wide open.
The second round was interrupted by two eye pokes, but when the action was ongoing, Hill and Prochazka were standing toe-to-toe, trying to knock each other out.
Hill probably got the better of the action. ‘Sweet Dreams’ connected with a liver shot that appeared to hurt his opponent as he started to gather momentum just before the bell rang.
Prochazka shut down that momentum at the start of round three. The Czech fighter hurt Hill and went hunting for the finish, but the American showed great powers of recovery to stay in the fight.
Unfortunately for Hill, he couldn’t bounce back when he was hurt again. Prochazka followed him to the floor and landed ground strikes until the referee stepped in to call off the fight.
Jiri Prochazka wants Alex Pereira trilogy fight
Pereira’s next opponent was confirmed to be Magomed Ankalaev during the UFC 311 broadcast.
The light heavyweight duo will meet in the main event of UFC 313 on March 8, which also features an enthralling lightweight contest between Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker.
During his post-fight interview, Prochazka expressed his desire for a trilogy fight with Pereira after previously suffering two knockout losses at the hands of the Brazilian.
“F*** man! I want a third fight with Alex Pereira,” he told Joe Rogan.
Fans went wild after the call-out before a camera panned to Pereira, who was in the crowd at UFC 311.
The champ was characteristically unmoved by the challenge as he uttered his ‘Chama’ catchphrase.
Pereira has a big fight ahead, and only after that can even think about revisiting his rivalry with Prochazka.