Jiri Prochazka is such a man of honor that he doesn’t want an award if he doesn’t think he deserved it, and he definitely doesn’t think he deserves the UFC’s ‘Comeback of the Year’ award for 2025. That’s because according to Prochazka, his fight with Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 320 went exactly according to […]
Jiri Prochazka is such a man of honor that he doesn’t want an award if he doesn’t think he deserved it, and he definitely doesn’t think he deserves the UFC’s ‘Comeback of the Year’ award for 2025.
That’s because according to Prochazka, his fight with Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 320 went exactly according to plan. Which is a bit shocking to those of us that watched it live, because it seemed like Rountree was rinsing the Czech fighter for the first two rounds before “BJP” turned the tides and earned a big KO win late in the third.
It was a huge moment for Prochazka and an exciting one for fans. Jiri banked $100,000 off the moment, half from a Performance of the Night bonus, and half from a Fight of the Night bonus. We don’t believe there’s any bonus money given away to UFC’s ‘of the year’ winners, but either way Prochazka says he doesn’t want that win to be considered a comeback.
“Appreciate it and one more thing, It was not comeback,” Prochazka declared on X (formerly Twitter). “I watched that 2 days back, and here is my result. I controlled my opponent all the fight. Even if he was many time successful with his techniques, I controlled distance, rhythm and precision of hits.”
Did he, though? As the included highlight video from the UFC shows, Rountree was landing more than Prochazka, was frustrating him, and disrupting his attacks. All three judges at UFC 320 gave the American kickboxer the first two rounds. And then we know what happened in the third.
Sounds like a comeback to us.
Rather than question his performance in those first two rounds, Jiri wants to look forward to his next fight. That may be in April depending on if the UFC can convince him to potentially miss the birth of his first child to fight in a non-title fight at UFC 327 in Miami. Or perhaps the rumors are true about Alex Pereira moving up to heavyweight to challenge for an interim title, clearing the way for “The Czech Samurai” to get what he demanded for such a sacrifice: a shot at UFC gold.
Prochazka recently clarified that reports of him fighting in Miami against Carlos Ulberg were premature and that negotiations were ongoing. Days after that, though, he posted a training video with the caption “Preparation started.”
He finished his rebuttal of the UFC’s Comeback of the Year with another message that makes it sound like he’s fighting sooner than later.
“Now is time to make a step up and show it,” he wrote. “LETSGOFORTHAT!”
Category: General Sports
