Former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder Ben Askren believes Jiří Procházka’s violent setback at UFC 303 was inevitable owing to where his focus was during fight week.
Procházka had his second attempt at regaining the UFC light heavyweight crown in the main event of the June 29 pay-per-view, which headlined International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
Having previously had his pursuit of the belt he formerly owned stalled by Alex Pereira at Madison Square Garden last November, “BJP” was targeting redemption against “Poatan” at T-Mobile Arena.
But the Czech star ultimately fell short once again, this time in a much more convincing and brutal fashion. After being dropped at the end of round one, Procházka was finished for good after being sent back to the canvas by a clean head kick in the second frame.
While many were backing the challenger’s chances owing to the early success he had against “Poatan” in 2023, one former fighter was expecting the UFC 303 main event to play out as it did after seeing some of Procházka’s pre-fight remarks…
Askren On Pereira vs. Procházka: ‘If You’re Worrying About Witchcraft, You’re Done’
During a recent episode of his Funky and the Champ YouTube show alongside Daniel Cormier, Askren gave his take on Procházka’s suggestion that Pereira uses “spiritual things” and “magic” from Shamans to help him defeat his opponents.
As soon as that reared its head, “Funky” believes it was game over for the challenger.
“I hate it,” Askren said of Procházka’s focus on “magic” during fight week. “If you start talking like that, that is a clear sign you’re going to get your ass kicked. If you’re starting to worry about witchcraft, no, you’re done. You’re not going to win. I said it, I said, ‘Listen, if he’s worrying about witchcraft, this is going to be over quick. He’s going to get knocked out,’ and that’s what happened.
“When you get that far, it’s a little too far. I said it, I hate this. I hate the fact he was thinking about this kind of stuff,” Askren continued. “(If you are), it’s probably over for you.”
A video has subsequently emerged showing Pereira and Procházka embracing one another at the airport post-fight, with the champion clarifying his religion and beliefs to his defeated rival.
“BJP” also made no mention of that pre-fight narrative in his first statement on social media. Instead, he took full responsibility for the defeat and insisted that he must evolve as a fighter or not compete again.
