Prochazka: UFC 275 comeback win was 'horrible performance'

Jiri Prochazka is thrilled to be the UFC light heavyweight champion, but he isn't happy with how he got there.

Prochazka and Glover Teixeira delivered the front-runner for "Fight of the Year" at UFC 275 on Saturday, with Prochazka submitting his opponent in the final 30 seconds to win the title. Entering the fifth round, Prochazka was losing on two of three judges' scorecards and needed a finish to win.

The new champ said afterward he wished he managed to dominate Teixeira as planned.

"From my side, it was a horrible fight, horrible performance. Honestly," Prochazka said at the postfight press conference, according to MMA Fighting. "You saw that fight. I just survived some moments. My ... life stance (is) to be dominant in the fight and not be just a survivor."

He added: "I don't want to fight like that. It's tough, it's full of blood, and it's not beautiful. Maybe for you, it's beautiful - you like to be entertained. But for a fighter, I like to fight clean."

Both fighters had moments in the striking and grappling departments, and the momentum shifted many times throughout 24 minutes. Prochazka credited Teixeira's "amazing" pressure on the ground and said he needed to be less "lazy" in setting up his offense and avoiding the Brazilian's punishment on the feet.

"For the next fight, I swear I will be another fighter," Prochazka said. "Not like that."

Prochazka, who expressed interest in making his first title defense against former champ Jan Blachowicz, has now won 13 bouts in a row, including three in the UFC. Only one of those fights went the distance.