LAS VEGAS – While he picked up a “Performance of the Night” bonus in his UFC debut, Jiri Prochazka says it’s important he fights differently in his return to the cage. The former Rizin FF light heavyweight champion isn’t satisfied with the danger in which he put himself in the opening round of his UFC 251 clash with Volkan Oezdemir and says he’s worked hard to make sure that doesn’t happen again. “My first round in my first fight was a little bit dangerous,” Prochazka told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Wednesday’s media day at the UFC Apex. But whatever you think about the first round, it’s kind of hard to deny how fantastic he was in the second frame of that July 2020 matchup, scoring a knockout of the former UFC title challenger 49 seconds into the round. That’s the type of performance Prochazka (27-3-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) hopes to replicate at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 23 , when he takes on Dominick Reyes (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in the night’s ESPN2-televised main event. Still relatively new to the promotion, Prochazka said he doesn’t know a ton about Reyes but does know that his own preparation has been sound.
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Just how serious is Jiri Prochazka ahead of UFC on ESPN 23? Check out his hair – MMA Junkie