Will Pereira vs Prochazka 2 be any different than the first?

It's a hastily made rematch to save the PPV, but it's still guaranteed violence whenever these two enter the cage.

Pereira is the UFC’s guy

Alex Pereira has proven himself to be exactly the kind of champion the UFC drools over. Massive both in size and appeal, Pereira delivers the kind of viral moments that the Endeavor-era UFC is built on.

Not only that, but Pereira is exactly the type of “anytime, anywhere” fighter that matchmakers try to gaslight every other fighter into being.

I can’t help but be repulsed by the predatory promotional practices that treat independent contractors like restaurant workers getting called in by their manager to cover a shift for a flaky coworker.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t also be in awe of the poise and confidence of Alex Pereira, who is putting his title on the line on two weeks’ notice while reportedly still recovering from broken toes.

His opponent, Jiří Procházka, should also be applauded for his willingness to emerge from whatever forested training environment he was isolating himself to rematch the man who knocked him out less than eight months ago.

Despite the circumstances, the last-minute changeups have resulted in a noted bump in competitive relevancy. After all, we’re going to see an actual title get defended against a top contender rather than the UFC ringing out Conor McGregor’s stardom to get those last few drops of casual appeal.

Given that we have a real championship fight on our hands, we should do our due diligence to give it the close attention it deserves. First we’ll recap how Pereira and Procházka’s first fight went, then we’ll look at the fights they’ve each had since.