Conor McGregor hails ‘samurai’ Jiri Prochazka in wake of Czech’s UFC title win

Conor McGregor has congratulated Jiri Prochazka on becoming the Czech Republic’s first UFC champion following the light heavyweight’s title win against Glover Teixeira.

Prochazka submitted Teixeira with around 30 seconds left in the fifth and final round of the UFC 275 main event on Saturday, dramatically avoiding what was set to be a decision defeat in Singapore.

With the victory, the 29-year-old became his nation’s first champion in the UFC, and McGregor – who is signed to the Paradigm Sports agency like Prochazka – hailed the Czech on Twitter.

“Paradigm’s Sports NEWEST! And the Czech Republic’s FIRST! UFC World Champion!” wrote McGregor.

“The indomitable samurai, @jiri_bjp! What a fight! What a performance! Huge congrats.”

Brazilian Teixeira was making his first defence of the belt that he won by submitting Jan Blachowicz late last year.

At 42, Teixeira had become the second-oldest champion in UFC history, while Prochazka’s rise to become a title holder in the promotion was one of the fastest in recent memory.

The 29-year-old was fighting in the UFC for just the third time as he defeated Teixeira.

Prochazka then returned to the Czech Republic to celebrate his UFC 275 win and was greeted by a huge crowd in his hometown of Brno on Monday.

A rematch between Prochazka and Teixeira has been touted as the next light heavyweight title fight, with their clash at UFC 275 having been deemed an instant classic.

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