Jiri Prochazka made it through his first UFC fight with flying colors!

There were some spectacular matches at Wrestling Island in Abu Dhabi over the weekend. One of them was a fight between Czech mma fighter Jiri Prochazka and Swiss fighter Volkan Oezdemir. For Jiri it was his first debut in the most prestigious mma league UFC. Jiri approached the fight very humbly from the beginning but without any fears he was confident of victory. Jiri did just that, sending the Swiss down with a hard punch in the second round.

In the following interview for isport.blesk.cz you can read how Jiří felt immediately after the game.

Interview with Jiří Procházka for isport.blesk.cz

You gave an incredible performance. How do you feel after a great entry into the UFC?

Amazing, but the performance was terrible, I took too many punches. I made a lot of mistakes. I was focusing on hitting him and knocking him out. But I wasn't paying attention to the defense.

Did the fact that he didn't return your greeting when you met before the fight affect your performance and your attitude towards Oezdemir?

No, that went by the wayside, it had no effect on me. I always treat my opponents, regardless of their behaviour, normally, respectfully, just politely. If he doesn't greet me, it's his fight. But I'm a decent guy.

What did the UFC people say about your performance?

They're still congratulating me, which I'm happy about, and I'm glad I made my mark with that first fight by winning like that. And especially with a good performance. I believe it will be like that every time. So let's go!

How did you enjoy your debut in the biggest league?

I tried to enjoy it even though I was a little nervous. After all, it was my debut and I wanted to make it sizzle. I wasn't worried about myself, it just hit me really hard when I saw the whole Czech Republic rooting for me. That people were watching and giving it a lot of weight. That was the only thing that made me nervous.

If you could name another opponent, who would it be?

I don't want to talk about that yet and I don't really care. Whatever the opponent is, it's going to be about the performance, not the opponent. That's what's important to me, otherwise I don't care. After this start, anybody can be an opponent. I want to fight again as soon as possible because I want to fight for the title. That's my mission. I'll fight whoever they offer me. I just want to show my skills.

Was that the greatest experience so far?

In terms of my athletic career, it was one of the most valuable victories. The absolute most valuable for me so far is from my second fight with Muhammed 'King Mo' Lawal. But definitely this first experience with the UFC is a great experience for me in terms of greatness. Other than that, I'm pretty much keeping my enthusiasm in check and staying grounded. The biggest experience for me was probably the first Rizin tournament, which probably won't change... Unless something unexpected or cosmic happens. I can't really imagine that anything could top that, because I let it affect me a lot back then. The first Rizin was really something.

And what impressed you about the organization?

Probably the attitude of Dana White (UFC president), who spoke to us before the fight after the weigh-ins. He was explaining to all the fighters how it's a big gala and to do our best. I was motivated by how passionate he still is about it. He really loves it and he's such a normal guy. I think that's what I liked the most.

Have you met him privately?

He said hello to me at the weigh-in: Welcome to the UFC, which was nice. And he wished me luck for the fight. I'm glad to be able to revive the welterweight division.

Have you figured out what you're going to get from the performance of the night bonus?

I haven't thought about that yet. (smiles) We'll see.

The premiere triumph was really noticed by the whole MMA world, many wrestling stars and experts reacted to it. What does it mean to you?

It means confirming the right path and moving forward. That's the whole

Do you have in your mind how you will spend the days after your return to the Czech Republic? Will there be a raucous celebration or do you want to take a break from the world?

I'm sure I'll celebrate with my friends because I didn't want to talk about the UFC until now. Mostly because until I had a fight, it seemed so stupid. I hadn't put on a performance there and I was already considered a UFC fighter. So I just kept quiet and focused on the first fight.

Interview source: https://isport.blesk.cz/clanek/ostatni-mma-ufc/381469/prochazka-po-vyhre-udelal-jsem-moc-chyb-cim-ho-nadchl-sef-ufc.html

Video source: Youtube

Source of the opening image: top-fight.cz