NEW YORK — Alex Pereira (9-2) knocked out Jiří Procházka (29-4-1) to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 295 from Madison Square Garden in New York.
ALEX PEREIRA IS A TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION! 🏆🏆
🇧🇷🏹 @AlexPereiraUFC MAKES HISTORY IN THE GARDEN! #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/7EWV8DFY8D
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 12, 2023
Procházka opened the strikes with a swift upper cut, before a leg sweep from Pereira sent him to the mat. Pereira continued to chip away with leg kicks while Procházka found his range. Procházka shot and pushed Pereira against the cage before sweeping him and taking him to the mat. Procházka moved into side control and looked for openings in Pereira’s guard. Pereira was able to get back to his feet, evading Procházka‘s wild strikes to end the round.
Procházka was much more aggressive to open the second, finding his range with a combination of varied kicks. Pereira followed with leg kicks of his own. Procházka backed him against the shots of his own as the two traded big blows before Pereira wrapped him up. Pereira continued to work the legs and this time it was Procházka wrapping up. Procházka walked down Pereira before a counter shot dropped the former champ. He tried to get to his feet, but elbow strikes sent him backward and Pereira finished him for the win.
Procházka had only fought three times since joining the UFC, earning two knockout wins before submitting Glover Teixeira to win the Light Heavyweight belt in June 2022. He vacated the belt after undergoing major shoulder surgery with a near-yearlong layoff.
Pereira entered Madison Square Garden seeking his second UFC title after moving from Middleweight to Light Heavyweight in July. Pereira won the Middleweight title in a knockout over Israel Adesanya before dropping the belt in their UFC rematch. He was open about how difficult the weight cut was ahead of their rematch, leading to the jump to a more manageable weight class. In his Light Heavyweight debut, he earned a decision victory over Jan Blachowicz as part of UFC 291’s co-main event before facing off against Procházka.
In the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White announced Jamahal Hill will get the next title fight when he’s ready.
