Alex Pereira Defeats Jiri Prochazka | UFC 295

All hail the new champ! Monster Energy congratulates MMA athlete Alex Pereira on defeating Jiri Prochazka to claim the UFC Light Heavyweight World Championship title at UFC 295 in New York City. In the night’s main event fight, the 36-year-old from São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, stopped his opponent in Round 2 to earn the vacant Light Heavyweight title, his second career UFC championship belt. 

Pereira also received the UFC’s $50,000 Performance of the Night Bonus for the fourth time in his two-year stint in the promotion.

Monster Energy’s Pereira (9-2) stepped into the Octagon as the former UFC Middleweight Champion and Glory Kickboxing Hall of Famer. In July, Pereira defeated Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291 in his debut fight in the Light Heavyweight division and now had his shot at claiming the vacant 205-pound division belt.

Pereira’s opponent, Jiri Prochazka (29-4) came to New York City on an unbroken 13-fight win streak, including three victories since joining the UFC. Previously, the 31-year-old from Czech Republic defeated Glover Teixeira at UFC 275 in June 2022.

As the main event inside Madison Square Garden unfolded, the crowd was in for an even matchup between two fierce Light Heavyweight contenders. Pereira did damage with kicks early in the first round and took Prochazka down with a leg kick. The Czech MMA star retaliated by taking down the Brazilian followed by brutalizing ground-and-pound.

In Round 2, Prochazka came out swinging with a big flurry of fists, but Pereira stood his ground and continued to deal damage by landing precise leg kicks.

The crucial moments of the fight unfolded when Pereira rocked Prochazka with a heavy counter left and right hook combination that sent his opponent to the ground. When Prochazka engaged in a takedown attempt, Pereira began landing punishing elbows from above that did visible damage. Then it was all over: At 4:08 of Round 2, referee Marc Goddard called for stoppage of the fight, pronouncing Pereira the winner by TKO.

The fight marks Pereira’s third consecutive victory inside Madison Square Garden. “It’s my house here now,” Pereira addressed the crowd after winning the title at UFC 295. “How do I get the key?”

Speaking on the decision to stop the fight, Pereira said in his post-fight interview at UFC 295: “I’m not surprised after the first left hook. He fell down on my legs, and I looked for the finish. I don’t think it was a bad stoppage.” 

The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship marks the second title within only two years in the UFC promotion for Pereira. In only 11 professional fights, Pereira has claimed two UFC championships and fought in two of the three highest-grossing PPV fights in promotion history.

In November 2022, the Brazilian claimed the UFC’s Middleweight Championship title by defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 281. The former professional kickboxer made his UFC debut in November 2021 at UFC 268. He was previously the WGP Kickboxing Middleweight Champion and also held MMA titles as the Glory Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion. Stay tuned for Pereira’s title defense in 2024!