UFC Predictions: UFC Vegas 25: Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka Predictions & Picks
After last night’s blockbuster PPV UFC 261, the UFC returns to its Las Vegas APEX for UFC Vegas 25: Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka.
UFC Vegas 25 features some solid-looking fights, but nothing in the way of star power like UFC 261 did. Still, this definitely sounds like a watchable show overall.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Vegas 25: Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka.
#1 UFC Light-Heavyweight division: Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka
It’s always interesting to see how a once-undefeated fighter bounces back from their first loss. And in Dominick Reyes’ case, it wasn’t so good.
‘The Devastator’ lost a razor-close decision to Jon Jones in his first title challenge at UFC 247 last February. Many fans felt he had won the bout, so it was no surprise when the UFC gave him another shot after 'Bones' vacated the light heavyweight belt later in 2020.
But Reyes was then starched by the Polish power of Jan Blachowicz, and is now on a two-fight losing streak. That means that this fight with Jiri Prochazka is pivotal for him.
Win, and Reyes could quickly find himself in title contention again. Lose, and he’ll basically be seen as an afterthought in the division.
The tricky thing is that it’s hard to work out exactly what Prochazka has to offer.
The Czech Republic native looked fantastic in his UFC debut last year, knocking out former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir with a devastating striking attack.
He does have plenty of big wins over former UFC stars such as CB Dollaway and Fabio Maldonado prior to entering the promotion, as well as one over current Bellator champ Vadim Nemkov.
At the very top level though, he’s still untested.
The big question here is whether Reyes can get back to the form that allowed him to push Jon Jones so hard last year.
At his best, Reyes is a range fighter who carries power in all of his strikes. He’s comfortable at range and from close quarters, and has looked decent on the ground too.
However, he’s up against a fighter with a 3” reach advantage in Prochazka, and one who seemingly hits remarkably hard, too.
This is a close call due to Prochazka’s inexperience at the UFC level, but you’ve got to question Reyes’ durability after his KO loss to Blachowicz, and Prochazka definitely carries power.
With that in mind, the pick here is Prochazka.
The Pick: Prochazka via second round TKO