Jiri Prochazka wasn’t mincing his words when he responded to Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier’s criticism.
Following a loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 303 this past June, Jiri Prochazka took some extended time away from the Octagon to try and ‘evolve’ his game.
The former light heavyweight champion returned this past Saturday at UFC 311 when knocked out fellow former champion, Jamahal Hill in the third round.
Prochazka showed clear improvements in his defense throughout the fight and even called for a trilogy fight against Pereira following his win.
Jiri Prochazka reacts to criticism from Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier
Early on in the fight, ‘The Last Samurai’ showed clear evolvement to his game, especially regarding his striking defense which has come under heavy criticism previously.
In the first round, Prochazka clipped ‘Sweetdreams’ Hill several times and clearly won the opening five minutes.
Despite winning the majority of the exchanges, there were a few occasions when Prochazka was clipped by Hill because he reverted back to his old ways of dropping his hands low.
And that drew criticism from commentators, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier who noticed Prochazka drop his hands again and also noticed him exaggerating having his guard up in the final round.
During the UFC 311 post-fight press conference, the 32-year-old was made aware of the commentators’ criticism, which he wasn’t very pleased about.
“I had my hands down in the first round?” Prochazka asked with a confused look on his face.
“F*** them, f*** them. I worked on that so much, so I think they should see that,” he continued.
Although he is frustrated with the criticism thrown his way, the former champion was critical of himself for his defense against Pereira.
“To be honest, in my last fight with Alex, it was a little bit too much to be so satisfied like with the hands-down even after I got to the second round after the knockdown,” he continued.
What’s next for Jiri Prochazka following UFC 311?
Despite Prochazka holding out hope that he can fight Pereira for a third time, ‘Poatan’s’ next title defense has been booked against Magomed Ankalaev for UFC 313 on March 8.
Unfortunately for Prochazka, the 205lb division seemingly must move on from that matchup and he will likely need at least one more win before the Brazilian champion considers a rematch with him.
Former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr will also be looking to secure himself another title shot and will need a bounce-back win of his own, with that fight making a lot of sense for both contenders.