Impressions were dashed after the UFC 275 event and the incredibly exciting match to win the new UFC light heavyweight champion.
Just before the end of the fight, Jiri Prochazka managed to shock the world by ending Glover Teixeira with a “submission”, which should have had a big advantage in the ground floor. It must be admitted that Teixeira also dominated in this segment for a large part of the fight and stepped towards victory, all the way to the suffocation by which Prochazka forced him to surrender.
The 29-year-old Czech fighter showed a big heart in that fight and deservedly won the title. After a great welcome in his Czech Republic, Prochazka found time to play at the MMA Hour and commented on the very end of the fight.
” I know the fight is tight and even and I had to do a little more to finish Teixeira, but my left arm was broken. I didn’t know how to finish him in a stand then, it wasn’t possible because he’s so solid, and whenever he shortened the distance, he would try to knock me down. Before the last round, I told myself that I would try to use every opportunity that was offered for the finish, no matter what the opportunity was. In the end, it was an “RNC (rear-naked choke) and so I took the opportunity,” Jiri said.
It was the third “submission” victory in Prochazka’s 33rd professional appearance and arguably the most valuable so far. Despite the unexpected ending and winning the title, Prochazka called his performance “awful” at a press conference, and now he has explained in more detail why he sees his play that way.
“I am disappointed because I did not show what I announced before the fight, total domination. Also, I didn’t feel the way I wanted to feel during the fight. But the belt is here and I’m glad about that. That’s good enough. Glover was solid, I expected that, but I forgot about the approach I wanted to take part in the fight. That was the main mistake. ”
Prochazka also attracted a lot of attention with “tapping” on the ground floor, which he did not actually teach. referee Marc Goddard later pointed out that this is a dangerous play because some referees could misjudge it and it is really quite confusing. Prochazka explained what he really wanted to achieve with that.
“I did it to encourage him to do more, I asked him (Glover) to give me more, to show me something more. This leads him to some kind of action, and I am waiting for his move so that he can counter it. That’s why I did it. I didn’t tap, it was a strategy, but very dangerous. Now I understand that. Maybe I’ll do it again, but not in that way, I won’t use tapping, ” Jiri explained, and at the end, he described what it feels like to be a champion.
”This is like the most beautiful dream, but I have to stay grounded. It’s not about the belt and all these beautiful things, but about the work and my performance. My performance was not what I wanted and that is why I am a bit disappointed. Everyone says the fight was amazing, a real war, etc. It’s good to present war sometimes, but it’s not the art of warriors and martial arts. This was a hard war and nothing else. I have to be smarter in matches,” concluded the new UFC light heavyweight champion.
