On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka are set to clash this weekend at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Both fighters are eager to rebound after suffering defeats to the reigning champion Alex Pereira in 2024. As they look to regain their winning momentum, the crowd made it clear that Pereira’s dominance remains fresh in everyone’s minds.
Ahead of the fight, both fighters participated in the pre-fight presser where they were asked some questions by the media. During the conversation, fans started shouting Alex Pereira‘s iconic ‘CHAMA’ chant to mock both the fighters. It was especially directed towards Hill, who has been on the wrong side of the MMA community since his loss at UFC 300.
As expected, Hill was eager to retaliate to the crowd and expressed that he would shut down all his haters inside the octagon. On the other hand, Prochazka was calm as ever and promised to put on a show. The Czech fighter did go viral for shaving his head for a fan, who is fighting against cervical cancer.
The crowd are booing and chanting “CHAMA” over Jamahal Hill’s question #UFC311
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) January 17, 2025
pic.twitter.com/KXgnyfd2Fi
Hill stated that he wants to fight the best version of the Czech superstar on fight night so that he can prove himself. He is desperate to get a win and ultimately try his luck against Pereira in a rematch. Similarly, the ‘Samurai’ is laser-focused on retribution.
Jiri Prochazka talks about recovering from his loss against Alex Pereira
Jiri Prochazka lost to Alex Pereira twice due to Pereira’s precision and power. In the first fight at UFC 295, a devastating counter secured a questionable knockout. During their short-notice rematch at UFC 303, Pereira’s improved takedown defense and a perfectly timed kick ended Prochazka’s night. In both the fights, the former RIZIN superstar looked helpless and underperformed.
Before coming to the UFC, Prochazka had spent years training and fighting in Japan and understanding the samurai culture. The Czech fighter likes to maintain a similar lifestyle and after the devastating loss, he had to go back to that. In a recent interview, Prochazka revealed the same.
I was there because it was my dream to travel to Japan to train there. See the true power of the nature of Japan. See the power of the old masters of karate in Japan. Visit my old places…just recharge myself after the loss with Alex Pereira.
Jiri Prochazka via UFC Unfiltered
Prochazka has made it clear that he doesn’t want to indulge in trash-talking against Jamahal Hill. He has also warned the former champion to focus on the task at hand and stop thinking about Alex Pereira now. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to see who among these fighters gets his hand raised at UFC 311.
More must-reads:
- NASCAR makes major Austin Hill decision after controversial Indianapolis crash
- Central Michigan facing NCAA discipline over Connor Stalions scandal
- The 'NFL stadium names' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
TODAY'S BEST
Yankees’ planned fire sale after Aaron Judge injury epitomizes roster weakness
Would the New York Yankees still be a heavyweight contender without Aaron Judge? Most fans would doubt it. What comes as a shock is that Yankees general manager, Brian Cashman, appears to agree. According to MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY, Cashman had explored the option of selling ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline (6 p.m. EST) if Judge’s flexor strain had turned out to be something worse. Martino wrote this: “[On Saturday], we relayed that the Yankees were floating some of their free-agent-to-be relievers in preliminary trade talks. We have since learned through league sources that last week the Yanks brought up Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt in talks with at least one other club.” It would be strange to see a team with a record well above .500 shop core hitters at the deadline. Both Bellinger and Goldschmidt — hitting .281/.333/.507 with 19 home runs and .283/.341/.419 with eight home runs respectively entering Tuesday — have been valuable producers for the Yankees this year. Goldschmidt signed a one-year deal with the Bronx Bombers over the offseason while Bellinger was acquired via trade with the Cubs. He is signed through 2026 but has a player option at the end of the year. Either player would bring a nice haul back to the Yankees. Of course, the reigning AL MVP’s injury doesn’t seem to be a season-altering, ‘abandon ship’ type of event. Optimistically, Judge should be back soon. But this does serve to illustrate how the team’s success is dependent on one player. Beyond Judge, the Yankees’ batting order doesn’t feature a star-caliber player, or at least a player the lineup can be built around. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, New York lacks enough solid hitters to be considered a worthy contender without Judge. The Yankees’ three bottom-of-the-order hitters — Austin Wells (.214), Anthony Volpe (.213) and newest acquisition Ryan McMahon (.223) — all own batting averages below .230 entering Tuesday. And this doesn’t include J.C. Escarra (.205), Oswald Peraza (.152) or even Ben Rice (.229). If Judge was lost for the season, selling wouldn’t have been a bad idea. He is insoluble glue holding the battered Yankees’ roster together, especially with Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt gone for the year. No one on the trade market could replace him, but with Judge coming back, the Yankees might have enough firepower to at least limp to the finish line.
'Does everything the right way' One Vikings player is taking advantage of Justin Jefferson missing practice
The Minnesota Vikings are without superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson during training camp due to a minor hamstring strain. That in itself is a tough spot to be in for the Vikings, but it does create other opportunities for players on the roster. It's an unintended bright side for the offense and J.J. McCarthy, as they continue to build toward the start of the 2025 season. There are plenty of players who can benefit from Jefferson not being on the practice field, and one player has been stepping up in a big way. https://www.youtube.com/live/sMBr3o5qveY?si=IBWdjVrnycm5FXWA Lucky Jackson taking advantage of WR3 opportunities The Vikings ended up signing Jackson going into training camp of 2023. He was an XFL all-star on the runner up D.C. Defenders team and was their deep ball specialist. Jackson was getting a lot of opportunities with the first team as the wide receiver three with Jefferson out, and he was taking advantage of those. During his press conference on Tuesday, head coach Kevin O'Connell was asked about Jackson and raved about I think it shows a lot that he can step in for in many ways, and take the, you know, the positional reps that Justin will be taken. I think it says a lot about Key (Keenan McCardell) and Tony's (Sorrentino) trust in him, Wes and myself, but this is a guy that does everything the right way. Doing everything in his control to become the best player he can become. Just happens to be in a very deep receiver room, but he's getting some opportunity right now. I think Jalen Nailor's having a great camp. I showed the team three or four clips last night that can sometimes go unnoticed, guys just doing their job in that inside position that you know many, many cast of characters over the years have made real famous by just doing their job from the slot in this system. Speedy is having a great camp, picking up right where he left off in the spring. But, yeah, Lucky, (along with) Jeshaun Jones, is off to a really good start. We're seeing our young guys all taking strides, not making the same mistake twice. And Rondale is getting his legs underneath him and continues to do some things that really impressed. Really fired up about that group as a whole." This is a really good sign for the Vikings as we get closer to the first preseason game. The more opportunities that players have to make an impact, the better chances they have of getting what they want. Jackson hasn't done much over the last two seasons with the Vikings, but he's stuck around nearly every week on the practice squad, even making it to the active roster for a short time at the end of 2023. He's developing into a well rounded player, which is exactly what the Vikings like in their wide receivers. If he does throughout all of training camp as well as he's played to start, Jackson could end up not just making the roster, but earning real playing time.
NFL analyst says teams should be 'extremely scared' of this franchise in 2025
While the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders have garnered a lot of attention lately, there is one NFC team that has quietly been flying under the radar. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost a one-score game to the Lions in the divisional round in 2023 and followed that up with another one-score loss to QB Jayden Daniels and the Commanders last season, proving how close they have been to the ultimate prize in the two seasons with Baker Mayfield under center. In an appearance on ESPN's "Get Up" Tuesday morning, analyst and former player Ryan Clark offered high praise for Mayfield and what the Buccaneers are capable of. "Baker Mayfield is a top-10 quarterback in this league," Clark said. "Baker Mayfield is a football player. And when I say that, I know people at home are gonna be like, 'Duh, he gets paid to play football.' No, not all quarterbacks are seen as football players. Not all quarterbacks are embraced in the locker room as one of us." Clark sees the Buccaneers as a team the rest of the league should be paying attention to because of who they have returning and the close calls in the playoffs the last two seasons. "This is a team that's been on the cusp the last two years," Clark said. "Now you think about some of the pieces they've added, the confidence in their quarterback and the way that he plays, and Todd Bowles with another year to understand winning at a high level at the head coach position. This is a team you better be extremely scared of because they're stacked and they're confident." Mayfield has been sensational during his time with the Buccaneers. Although he did throw 16 interceptions, Mayfield accounted for the third-most passing yards (4,500) in the league last season and has thrown the most TD passes (69) in the last two seasons, per StatMuse. To add even more incentive for Mayfield, the team restructured his contract, which is set to expire after the 2026 season, to include $30M in guaranteed salary for that season. The Buccaneers return a lot of production on both sides of the ball, in addition to bringing in first-round draft pick Emeka Egbuka, who topped 1,000 receiving yards twice at Ohio State and accounted for 26 total TDs. While Tampa Bay allowed the 17th-most points per game (22.7) last season, it returns the majority of its defensive production. On top of that, the offseason acquisition of veteran LB and two-time Pro-Bowler Haason Reddick, who agreed to terms on a one-year deal, should be a welcomed addition for a franchise that had some question marks on defense last season. The Buccaneers are projected to have the sixth-easiest schedule in the NFL this season and have the best chance to win the NFC South for the fifth consecutive season, according to ESPN Analytics. If Mayfield can cut back on his turnovers and the defense can create more pressure on opposing QBs, the Buccaneers could be a threat in the NFC once again as they look to put their recent nail-biting losses in the postseason behind them.
Jordan Love causes teammate to get yanked from drill
It appears that Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is getting better at one area, particularly when it comes to the hard count. He had success last week with his hard count when he got both Nate Hobbs and Edgerrin Cooper jumping on separate occasions. Love, who is entering his third season as the Packers’ full-time starting quarterback, continues to work on his game and polish areas where improvements can be made, and mastering the hard count seems like one of the items he is focused on in the training camp. It can also be recalled that he talked about the hard count during 2023 OTAs as an “emphasis that I’ve been trying to just build and keep working.” Green Bay offense takes friendly fire over Love’s hard count On Monday, Love drew another offside because of his hard count, but not at the expense of the defense. “Love got Hobbs to jump with his hard count last week. On Monday, Love got another Packers newcomer to jump on the hard count. The only problem for Love is that it was his own left guard. Banks flinched right before defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt and was booted from the drill for Jacob Monk,” Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reported. Getting familiar with Love’s cadence is a challenge for the Packers’ offensive line, as the team definitely doesn’t want to see the QBs hard counts resulting in penalties for the offense instead of for the defense.
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
