Jiri Prochazka weathers early storm to finish Alexander Rakic ​​at UFC 300… as former light heavyweight champion earns first win since losing title

Jiri Prochazka made a thrilling comeback to secure a second-round stoppage of Alexander Rakic ​​at UFC 300.

The two European light heavyweight contenders faced off in the preliminary round at Saturday’s prestigious event in Las Vegas.

In his first fight since losing the title to Alex Pereira in November, Prochazka demonstrated his characteristic reckless abandon from the opening bell, taking the Austrian to the cage.

With Prochazka in front, Rakic ​​found his zone early and peppered the Czech with a series of low kicks that forced him into an unfamiliar southpaw stance.

Prochazka’s relentless pressure continued, however, and he began to enjoy more success towards the end of the first.

But the former light heavyweight champion bounced back in spectacular fashion in Las Vegas.

After dropping Rakic ​​with a knee, Prochazka scored a TKO victory to claim another title shot

As the fighters returned for the second round, Prochazka’s momentum began to pay off and he dropped Rakic ​​with a knee before raining down strikes and forcing referee Herb Dean to intervene.

Speaking after the fight, the 31-year-old insisted that Rakic’s pre-fight comments about his behavior outside the cage only served to motivate him in competition.

“I have to say he talks about me like I’m not a samurai, that’s true but I’m just a man and we all need to be inspired by an idea or something. ” He said.

“The fact that he said that pushed me more to prove that I live by these rules and that I believe in myself, in my dreams and that I want to prove to everyone that I can achieve the best performance in the world. evening.

“I said it would be the perfect storm, it wasn’t perfect but it was a storm!”