Just recently, UFC commentator Joe Rogan invited former Light Heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka to his podcast show and discussed a whole range of topics. One of the standouts was Rogan pressing Prochazka on his outlandish assertions that Alex Pereira used black magic and voodoo ahead of their second bout at UFC 303.
The accusations drew considerable attention throughout the MMA community. Jiri Prochazka offered his side and Rogan tried to unpack the thinking behind it. Ahead of UFC 303, the Czech had accused “Poatan” of using black magic and voodoo to win fights.
During his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Prochazka initially tried to steer away from the topic but eventually opened up, saying:
“I don’t want to speak about that fully because it is something that I am humble for. I can’t say this is it because everyone has their own way and nobody is, even me, prepared to say something for somebody (to take it seriously). I get lost in that (question). So the thing is, I will not speak about where is the magic, how to use the magic. That (black magic) was the biggest power for my opponent because I was focused for him, not for me.”
The 32-year-old has openly admitted that ahead of his rematch against the Brazilian, he was too focused on accusing Pereira of using ‘spiritual things’ instead of the fight itself. The former LHW champion admitted that he was wasting his mental energy on a belief that his opponents were engaged in such processes. As per him, he perhaps allowed this notion to distract him from his own preparation.
The claims, which stirred significant debate in the MMA community, added an unusual layer of tension to their bout. However, Pereira refuted the claims recently in an interview.
Alex Pereira Refutes Jiri Prochazka’s Claims of Black Magic
Alex Pereira nonetheless has strongly refuted these claims, as he recently did on the show The Ariel Helwani Show. Pereira said he never engaged in such action, maintaining that he was religious and was only trying to play fair. He stated:
“All respect to him, but no man, I’m a god-fearing man. I have God in my heart… He’s just saying these things, I’ve never participated in any of those things, I’m a regular person.”
He further mocked the claims, adding,
“If he really believed that, take a doll, tie my hands and feet, and then fight me, like that’s going to work.”
Alex Pereira expressed his desire for a fair and competitive rematch with Prochazka, adding:
“With all respect to him, and honestly speaking, if we went and fought again a third time and if he put all this [magic claims] aside and just fought, I think we would be able to give a much better fight… I don’t want to fight guys who are cheating, no, I want to fight them at their best, at their prime. A guy that’s ready, gets the fire in him and thinks ‘I want to beat this guy’. And if they’re at their best, there’s no reason to talk about this kind of stuff.”
The Brazilian champion is now headed to face Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, where his LHW title will be on the line. Ankalaev is looked upon by many as the champion’s toughest challenge due to his strong grappling skills.
Sachin Singh 
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Ashvinkumar Patil