Jiri Prochazka scored an extraordinary second round knockout on his debutUFC fight.- "Welcome to the big show," the UFC commentator Jon Anik said.
- Prochazka brought a good record and a champion's status from competing on the Japanese circuit with Rizin FF.
- And after finishing a former light heavyweight title challenger in
Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 251 on "Fight Island ," Prochazka could find himself close to a title shot in the UFC, too. - Watch the knockout below.
FIGHT ISLAND — Jiri Prochazka introduced himself to the UFC in style on Saturday by knocking out a former light heavyweight title challenger early in the second round.
It all went down at UFC 251 inside the purpose-built, behind-closed doors Flash Forum on "Fight Island," which is a quarantined area of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Prochazka was signed by the UFC in January, bringing with him a great pedigree and champion's status from his time at the Rizin Fighting Federation, a Japanese MMA firm.
There are rarely gimme matches in the world's premier mixed martial arts organization, though, and Prochazka was given a baptism of fire as he was put in the Octagon with Volkan Oezdemir, who entered "Fight Island" with back-to-back wins.
As for the fight itself, well … it was weird. Good weird. Fun weird.
Prochazka appeared to be there to hit, even showboating and sticking his chin out as if to say, "Have a free shot."
Strikes were swapped, with Prochazka seemingly landing the more effective ones, but then Oezdemir started showboating, too.
Just as Prochazka taunted the Swiss fighter again, he got hit and seemed legitimately stunned, like he might even fall to the canvas.
Then all hell broke loose — by the round's end, there had been 146 combined strikes thrown, with Oezdemir landing more (42 out of 86) compared to Prochazka (26 out of 60).
Ultimately, there was only one punch that mattered, and that was the one Prochazka finished the fight with — a right hand as brutal as it was accurate, and it cracked Oezdemir on the chin, sending him down for beyond the count, as it took minutes for him to recover and regain his senses.
The finish was so resounding, the UFC commentator Jon Anik could be heard saying: "Welcome to the big show."
Watch it here:
—ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 12, 2020
Or here if you're in a different region:
—UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) July 12, 2020
With the win, Prochazka advanced his record to 27 wins (24 knockouts, two submissions, and one decision) against three losses and one draw.
Significantly, Prochazka scored an extraordinary — and fun — second round win on his debut with the UFC, and will find himself thrust high up the light heavyweight rankings already as a result.
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