"Deserve a suspension" - UFC fans outrage as "irresponsible" Jiri Prochazka reveals undisclosed staph infection before fighting Alex Pereira

Jiri Prochazka reveals details of pre-UFC 295 staph infection [Image via @jirkaprochazka on Instagram]
Jiri Prochazka reveals details of pre-UFC 295 staph infection [Image via @jirkaprochazka on Instagram]

Jiri Prochazka recently made some startling revelations about his health going into his undisputed light heavyweight title fight against Alex Pereira at UFC 295 this past November. 'Denisa' revealed that he suffered from a nasty staph infection in his left leg and could only train for a week in the five weeks leading up to the fight.

Prochazka and Pereira went up against each other in the main event of UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden for the vacant light heavyweight title. While many expected the fight to go the distance, 'Poatan' secured a second-round knockout over Prochazka and took home the 205-pound strap.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the former light heavyweight champion opened up about his preparations going into the title fight and revealed that he was suffering from a serious infection in his left leg that spread to his ear. He said:

"From the last five weeks of preparations, I trained just one week. Because of the staph infection... [It] was on my leg, and then it started to travel through my body to my ear."

After @MMAFighting posted a clip from the interview on X, fans flocked to the post's comments section and slammed Prochazka for fighting with the infection.

One fan wrote:

"That should deserve a suspension 'cause that can affect others with contact. So irresponsible."

Another fan wrote:

"Someone get this warrior some anti-septic soap."

Check out some more reactions below:

Screenshots from @MMAFighting on X
Screenshots from @MMAFighting on X

Jiri Prochazka on not pulling out of UFC 295 title fight despite suffering from an infection

In the same interview, Jiri Prochazka spoke about why he didn't think of pulling out of his fight against Alex Pereira at UFC 295. He credited his strong mentality for helping him go through with his booking and explained his thought process.

After Helwani asked him if he considered pulling out of the fight at any point due to poor health, Prochazka answered in the negative and said:

"I'm a warrior and I'm going to fight. Doesn't matter to me. Many times I've been in fights with sickness, injuries and many [other] things and I believe I can win. When you believe you can win, the way is open and that's why I'm going to [compete in] every fight."

Catch Jiri Prochazka's comments below (1:22):

Prochazka is now booked to face Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300. The promotion's milestone event will go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 13.

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