“This is for me just motivation” - Jiri Prochazka speaks out referee Marc Goddard’s stoppage controversy at UFC 295

Many people, including the UFC 295 broadcast commentators, believed that the main event title fight between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira was stopped early, but the Czech former champion has shut down those narratives.

Coming back from injury and attempting to re-claim his light heavyweight championship, Prochazka was knocked down by Pereira late in the second round before Marc Goddard stepped in and called the fight. Many felt the stoppage was called too early, but Prochazka himself admitted that Goddard was "right" immediately after in his post-fight interview and again in an Instagram post.

Following the fight, Jiri Prochazka posted a video on Instagram thanking fans for support, saying:

"This is for me just motivation... Marc Goddard was right. Maybe two or three seconds and it would be a different way, but what happened happened... Watch me now. I'll be back stronger than ever. Thank you for the support."

Joe Rogan was the first to claim that Alex Pereira's knockout was called too early, and shortly after, both Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik agreed with him on the broadcast. However, Prochazka denied pushing that story and said after the fight that he was unconscious.

View Prochazka's full video statement below:

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Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira Recap

Coming back from the supposed worst shoulder injury Dana White has ever seen, Jiri Prochazka attempted to re-take his claim as the UFC light heavyweight champion against Alex Pereira. However, it was instead Pereira who made history as the quickest fighter to be a two-division UFC champion.

After a chaotic back-and-forth for almost two rounds, Pereira clipped Prochazka coming in with a left hook that put the Cezch samurai on his knees. Pereira followed up with elbows and ground-and-pound, causing Prochazka to fall backward before Marc Goddard stopped the action.

With the win, Pereira avenged his coach and close friend Glover Teixeira's previous loss to Prochazka.