UFC president Dana White said he loves the unique personalities of his fighters in the lead-up to UFC 303, especially spiritual light heavyweights Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira, who are currently at odds over the ritualistic powers that Prochazka believes are at play.
In a series of interviews ahead of the championship bout, Prochazka claimed Pereira “works with shamans back home and believes he is receiving spiritual help from them.”
“Everybody knows he has these rituals,” he said. “Everybody can feel it before a fight, what’s around him, what’s going on, so I don’t think Alex can compete without it.”
Pereira responded, “Everybody has their own spirit. We’re not just made of flesh and bones. It’s not my fault if he doesn’t find his spirit or doesn’t believe in it.”
“Magic, dark magic, that’s one of the reasons this fight is so damn awesome.”
Backstage after the UFC 303 press conference, White was jokingly asked by a reporter if he would be open to being tested for Dark Force.
“Does the Commission Test for Witchcraft and Sorcery?” by MacLife reporter Oscar Willis White asked..
“But I love that story. Apparently when Jiri found out about the fight, she locked herself in her shed for three days. No water, no food, nothing,” White replied.[He] He prays, he meditates, he does everything. When the coach knocked on his door and told him this game was on, he was like, ‘If this is what the universe wants,’ I mean, that’s the kind of guy he is!”
White noted that Prochazka posted online about his ritual in late May 2024, saying he would go without food or electricity for several days while preparing to train for his next fight.
“3 days
No light
There is no food
Pure Focus
“Pure Training” Prochazka Said.
The UFC president is used to gimmick entrances, both as part of TKO Group Holdings, which also owns UFC and now WWE, but White said these two fighters aren’t using gimmicks, it’s just who they are.
“So [Prochazka] I see him doing his shaman thing…magic, black magic, and that’s one of the reasons this match is so awesome. This is the real deal. This isn’t some bullshit that someone made up when they were trying to make some kind of gimmick wrestling thing. This is who these two guys really are. This is what makes people really love them. [the UFC]”… You can tell if someone is the real deal, unlike some crappy wrestling piece of shit.”
White is so excited about the event that, at the request of other reporters, he added a second Fight of the Night bonus to UFC 303, which typically pays out between $50,000 and $100,000 per fighter.
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