Jiří Procházka is essentially admitting that his fight against Dominick Reyes had two finishes, and the first one did not go in his favor.
That may be a bit hyperbole, but the Chezch does truly believe he was knocked out during his fight against Dominick Reyes after being kicked in the head. In an appearance on the “Believe You Me” podcast, Procházka walked listeners through what could have been a fight-ending sequence (transcription via Ross Markey of LowKickMMA).
“The second situation that was the kick from the background to my head,” Procházka said. “That was a knockout. That was a knockout. And nobody knows that.“
“For one or two seconds I was out, out, I was out. Where is his (Dominick Reyes) body to lean on him?” Prochazka joked. “Just to take some — one, two, three seconds to take a breath. Okay, where I am? Here? What now?“
Procházka is more than likely referring to an upkick from Reyes late in the second round that looked as though it may have potentially put the Czech out for the most fleeting of moments. Procházka also appeared to be badly hurt by a huge left hand from Reyes halfway through the second round that suddenly turned Procházka into a wrestler, as Nate Diaz would describe the sequence.
In the end, Procházka’s composure, second wind, out-of-body experience, whatever you want to call it—proved to be effective, as it ended up being Procházka scoring the only official knockout of the contest.
With the win, Procházka is now the #2-ranked contender at light heavyweight and may very well be facing the winner of the upcoming fight between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira scheduled for UFC 266 in September. Alexander Rakic has argued that a #1-contender fight between him and Procházka is warranted, so we’ll see what move the UFC decides to make with these two contenders.
As for Dominick Reyes, the KO loss marked his third consecutive defeat in a row. Pending medical clearance, Reyes will be sidelined for up to six months.
What are your thoughts upon hearing Jiří Procházka’s “confession?”
