MMA | Walk vs. Pereira: All about the UFC 295 title fight

The world’s most famous MMA organization UFC, under which the title fight will take place, will visit the mecca of combat sports, Madison Square Garden in New York. Procházka’s fight with Pereira will be one of the two title fights of the evening.

For the first time since his return in March, the legendary Jon Jones was supposed to defend his heavyweight title against another giant of the MMA world – former two-time champion Stipe Miocic. However, Jones tore a tendon in his pectoral muscle on Oct. 25, meaning he will be out for at least eight months, including surgery. The Russian Sergej Pavlovich and the British Tom Aspinall will share it for the provisional title.

The new vacant light heavyweight belt champion will be decided on Sunday, November 12, 2023. Program starts at 4:00 in the morning CET, the title match itself will come as the highlight of the event only three or four hours later. The fighters will present themselves in the bastion of fighting disputes, Madison Square Garden in New York, which has hosted iconic matches of personalities such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Anthony Joshua and Mike Tyson.

You can watch the fight of the Czech fighter to return to the throne of the light heavyweight champion live on several platforms. The first option is the paid Premier Sport TV channel. Subscribers of O2TV, Voyo, T-Mobile or Telly can also benefit. Streaming is available on the websites of bookmakers, but the condition is registration and payment of a minimum fee or wagering a certain amount.

The third option is to use the so-called PPV (pay-per-view), i.e. pay the given amount for viewing directly to the UFC, thanks to which you will be able to broadcast the selected tournament.

Since July 2022, when Procházk won the championship belt, the UFC light heavyweight has been shaken to its foundations. Before the planned November defense of the Czech fighter, who was to be challenged again by the previous champion Glover Teixeira, the Czech fighter was injured and the belt was released.

The UFC ordered a fight for the vacant title, which was fought for at the UFC 282 tournament by the Russian Magomed Ankalajev and the Polish Jan Blachowicz. Teixeira, on the other hand, had eyes for crying. The grueling battle for the Holy Grail had to be decided by the judges, who, however, could not agree unanimously, and the battle ended in a draw. For so many months, the light heavyweight division remained without its ruler.

In January 2023, the time came again for the Brazilian veteran Teixeira, who challenged the American tough guy Jamahal Hill. Although the referees had to decide the result again, the appeal of the American, who was 11 years younger, was ultimately successful. A new opponent in the title battle for the recovering Procházka was also known. However, even this plan unfortunately fell through. Champion Jamahal Hill tore his Achilles tendon in mid-July 2023 and, following Procházek’s example, decided to release his championship belt among other contenders.

So the idea came to the event to call the winner of the July UFC 292 fight between Jan Błachowicz and Alex Pereira as a new challenger to Procházky. The clash between the former light heavyweight champion and the former king of the middle division, who made his debut one category higher, ultimately sounded better for the latter, who now has a unique opportunity to rise to the top of the 93 kg division.

Jiří Procházka entered the world level of MMA by signing a contract with the Japanese fighting organization Rizin in 2015. Four years later, the Czech fighter went all the way to the light heavyweight championship belt, which he defended in the same year. But then he got an offer that he couldn’t just refuse. The famous UFC knocked on the door.

The contract with the world’s most famous fighting organization was signed in January 2020. In the same year, Procházka even made his debut among the elite, embellishing his brilliant debut with a KO triumph in the second round, when he knocked out Volkan Oezdemir. Another scalp was also from the workshop of the uncompromising. Next came a famous victory over the American Dominick Reyes, whom Procházka ended with a wonderful elbow strike from a spin.

The peak of the most successful Czech MMA fighter came in July 2022, when he defeated the Brazilian Glover Teixeira in a breathtaking battle in the title battle of the light heavyweight division, finishing him in the fifth round with a rear-naked choke. The native of Hostěradice thus became the first ever Czech UFC champion.

During his career so far, the Czech wrestler managed to win 29 out of 33 fights, 25 of which ended by KO.

Alex Pereira entered the world of mixed martial arts only later, his dominant sport was kickboxing, in which he won the double title of the Glory organization in middle and light heavyweight. He thus became the first and only kickboxer to achieve this “double”.

Pereira entered the world’s most prestigious organization, the UFC, in 2021 with a middleweight debut against the Greek Andreas Michailids, whom he defeated by TKO. The highlight was a successful title match with the then “unbeatable” champion Israel Adesanya. This was followed by an unsuccessful defense and a second encounter with an African rival, who managed to take the belt back. Three months later, Pereira jumped a weight class higher and beat the aforementioned Błachowicz.

The Brazilian fighter, who is coached by “old acquaintance” Glover Teixera, holds a career MMA record of 10 fights and eight wins, six of which were by KO.