Jiri Prochaska wants the light heavyweight title and doesn’t care who he has to face.
After falling twice to reigning champion Alex Pereira, Prochaska appeared to be in an awkward position within the division. That was until he scored an epic come-from-behind KO of Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 320. With this victory, everyone seems to be itching to see the ‘BJP’ contesting for the gold medal again.
But even if he does, it is unlikely to be a three-fight series against Pereira.
After “Poitan” reclaimed the 205-pound title with a stunning 80-second knockout win over Magomed Ankalaev, the Brazilian boogeyman appears fully poised for a move to heavyweight.
Pereira was likely aiming to face the winner of Tom Aspinall vs. Cyril Gane, but with that fight at UFC 321 unfortunately ending in a no-contest, Pereira appears to have pivoted to a long-rumored matchup with another former two-division titleholder, Jon Jones.
If Pereira vs. Jones happens, Prochaska believes he would be one of two fighters to compete for the vacant light heavyweight belt in 2026.
“There’s a lot of potential for this fight, but I don’t think the UFC would agree to it,” Prochaska told Bloody Elbow while discussing a possible third fight with Pereira. And two, he’s going to challenge for the heavyweight division, so I think he needs to free up the title.
“I don’t know. I don’t really care what his next move is. Like I said, I want to fight for the title and right now I don’t care if it’s Alex Pereira, Ulberg or Ankalaev. If it’s for the title, then let’s go for it.”