SINGAPORE – Despite entertaining the masses, Jiri Prochazka is not happy with his effort in claiming the light heavyweight title from Glover Teixeira in the UFC 275 main event.
Prochazka (29-3-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) made good on his first championship opportunity Saturday when he submitted Teixeira (33-8 MMA, 16-6 UFC) in the fifth round at Singapore Indoor Stadium. The back-and-forth battle is a Fight of the Year candidate, but it was not what Prochazka wanted from himself inside the octagon.
“From my side it was horrible fight, horrible performance,” Prochazka told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC 275 post-fight news conference. “Honestly. You saw that fight. I just survived some moments. It’s my plan to be dominant and not just to be a survivor in there. For you it’s beautiful because you like to be entertained, but for a fighter, I like to fight clean.”
The upside for Prochazka, however, is that even though he failed to meet his standard, he still left UFC 275 with gold around his waist.
It only took a matter of minutes for Prochazka to identify the tactical errors he made over the course of nearly five full rounds of fighting with Teixeira, and he knows what he needs to change moving forward so he can produce a more one-sided fight.
“I was a little bit lazy to set up some situations and to prepare him for the knockout, to watch in the striking,” Prochazka said. “To see him, to see the moments. To see the right place and catch it. That was my laziness in the fight.
“He didn’t surprise me with nothing. We knew all these things and he was successful in there. So I have to work on that. Not just work on the training, but work on myself to stop doing things. I know where is the mistakes in my preparation, in my life and what I have to change for the fight.”
After waiting on his title fight for more than a year, Prochazka said he’s keen to return to the octagon within the next six months for his first defense. He didn’t rule out a rematch with Teixeira, or a clash with former champion Jan Blachowicz next.
First and foremost, though, Prochazka wants to celebrate his win and take some time to recover.
“I think this year – I want to fight this year,” Prochazka said. “But not in the next month. I have to repair a little bit my face.”
