Khalil Rountree Jr. was hospitalized following his bloody knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka as part of the UFC 320 pay-per-view (PPV) event earlier this month is Las Vegas. As a result, “BJP” did not have a chance to thank the 35 year-old “War Horse” for leaving it all on the line in their “Sin City” slugfest.
“The first thing I want to say to Khalil: Thank you,” Prochazka told MMA Fighting. “Thank you for the amazing fight. Thank you, because every time, when you share the cage with some opponents,
he’s also your teacher because he’s teaching you how to overcome him, how to overcome his attacks, how to learn, how to be better, because that’s what we are doing. … I’m sharpening him, he’s sharpening me.”
The victory marked the second straight for the former light heavyweight champion.
“That’s the point of fighting, to be better — to be better as a humans, and to find a way how to overcome somebody, even ourselves, by our performance, to find a way how to be better in our performance, how to be better than our opponents,” Prochazka continued. “I’m thankful to him, to share the cage with him, and especially with him, because there was not too many opponents as dynamic and tough like him.”
His performance at UFC 320 was good enough to move Prochazka into a tie with red-hot contender, Carlos Ulberg, for the No. 1 ranking at 205 pounds. Pereira, who destroyed Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 320 main event, is currently recovering from a broken foot and not expected to make his Octagon return until some point in 2026, presumably against Ulberg.
That said, “Black Jag” is willing to fight “BJP” while the champ recovers.
“I just saw the fight and I was — I don’t want to say disgusted by my performance — but I want to say, I was better [than what I showed],” Prochazka added. “I was much better and I really worked to show my improvement, to show what I’ve worked [on], to be much better in counter timing and much better in working with the space between us, and about the movement. “[I give it a] C [grade]. C because not good, not bad. Maybe a little bit bad, but in the end, you find a way. So that is a C.”
As for Pereira? Like most everyone else, “BJP” gave him an A.
