Jiri Prochazka opens up on the mental duel he had with Alex Pereira at iconic UFC face-off

The broadcast kept flipping between the two fighters, capturing every moment of their intense focus.

Their gazes locked, as both fighters waited for the opening bell.

On Demetrious Johnson’s MIGHTYcast, Prochazka spoke about what was going through his mind and what he hoped to accomplish by holding that gaze.

“There is a game of catching the spirit or catching the focus [of] other person,” he explained.

“I don’t wanna speak about for him, but there is the game to see just a little space of where he is not focused, where he is not aware of something, whatever, then you can catch it, and then you can use it against him.

“Sometimes you need to go through a lot of pressure in the fighting to make this small space of not aware, to be not aware, but in the end, it’s about the focus.

“It’s about the pure focus through the tough work, through all these things, what’s happened in the fight and still be the same, still be in the hunting mode.

“That’s why I think this stare-down was so interesting,” Prochazka stated.

Johnson then said: “First one who blinks loses. I love it.”

But the Czech star answered: “It’s not about the blinks, it’s about the attitude.

“What you have inside and you don’t show your attitude, your spirit inside.

“Smiling, be angry, whatever, but don’t show your true self. Maybe in the end of the fighting where there is a highest pressure, highest volume, then there is nothing to lose.”

Jiri Prochazka sets sights on Alex Pereira trilogy fight

Even though he is 0-2 against the champion, Prochazka has put together a solid argument for another shot at Pereira.

Following his knockout loss to Pereira at UFC 303, Prochazka has bounced back with consecutive knockout wins against two notable opponents: former champion Jamahal Hill and former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr.

His walk-off KO against Rountree Jr. at UFC 320 was one of the most memorable finishes of 2025, and it came on the same night that Pereira defeated Magomed Ankalaev to secure the belt once again.