Daniel Cormier believes lengthy layoff “is going to hurt” Jiri Prochazka in title fight with Alex Pereira at UFC 295

Daniel Cormier believes a lengthy layoff ‘is going to hurt’ Jiri Prochazka in title fight with Alex Pereira at UFC 295.

UFC 295 will take place this coming Saturday, November 11th at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The main event will feature a light heavyweight title fight between Jiri Prochazka (29-3 MMA) and Alex Pereira (8-2 MMA).

Prochazka, 31, the former light heavyweight champion, last fought and defeated Glover Teixeira (33-9 MMA) in June of 2022 at UFC 275, making it his 13th win in a row.

Pereira, 36, battled it out in the Octagon this past July, defeating Jan Blachowicz (29-10 MMA) at UFC 291.

‘BJP’ has been out of action for approximately 16 months due to a shoulder injury which required surgery. Due to the injury Prochazka had to vacate the light heavyweight belt, but will have another crack at it at UFC 295.

According to UFC commentator, Daniel Cormier, this will put Prochazka at a disadvantage heading in to this weekends fight.

Cormier, speaking on his ESPN show ‘DC & RC’ spoke about Jiri saying:

“He has not been here long, so for him to have been UFC champion in such a short period of time tells you how special of a talent he is. But with him winning as he did with a lot of frequency that he was in the octagon, I believe that that consistency helped him to where he was able to get that UFC championship belt.”

Continuing, Daniel Cormier spoke of the Jiri Prochazka’s layoff  from fighting saying (h/t MMAJunkie):

“I think that this layoff is going to hurt him, but for Jiri, it’s got to feel like playing with the house’s money because he was supposed to be gone for another four months. Eighteen months, he got hurt last year. This guy is back in 15 months. They were saying 18 months until he was able to do anything.”

“So now he’s (Prochazka) back fighting for the belt, but I do believe that this ring rust is going to play a factor, especially early. Alex Pereira has been very active.”

Do you agree with Daniel Cormier that it will be a tough fight for Jiri Prochazka because of his inactivity in the Octagon? Who will you be betting on for the win?

Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!