Ben Askren knew Jiri Prochazka would lose when he started 'to worry about witchcraft' ahead of UFC 303

Ben Askren thinks Jiri Prochazka’s head wasn’t in the right space going into UFC 303.

Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) was knocked out by light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in their title-rematch this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

In the lead-up to the fight, Prochazka pleaded with Pereira to not seek spiritual help from Shamans, and to fight in a pure and clean way. On his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier, Askren knew that mindset would lead to Prochazka’s downfall.

“I hate it,” Askren said of Prochazka’s thoughts leading into UFC 303. “If you start talking like that, that is a clear sign you’re going to get your ass kicked. If you’re starting to worry about witchcraft, no, you’re done. You’re not going to win.

“I said, ‘Listen, if he’s worrying about witchcraft, this is going to be over quick. He’s going to get knocked out,’ and that’s what happened. … When you get that far, it’s a little too far. I said it – I hate this. I hate the fact he was thinking about this kind of stuff. If you think about that type of stuff, it’s probably over for you.”

Prochazka was visibly distraught after his second title loss to Pereira, prompting him to say that if he doesn’t evolve, he won’t fight again.