Outside Source
A staple of the promotion’s title picture at 205 pounds since his second win with the UFC in 2021, Prochazka claimed the belt against Glover Teixeira in 2022. The Czech athlete relinquished it after sustaining an injury, and later vied for it two more times against Alex Pereira—“Poatan” knocked him out on both occasions. “BJP” made a recent case to remain in contention by wiping out Khalil Rountree at UFC 320 in a comeback performance, only for Pereira to reclaim the throne later that night by blazing through Magomed Ankalaev.
Despite that the only man to beat him inside the Octagon now holds the divisional crowd, Prochazka thinks that his dazzling performances have earned him another crack at gold. He believes that Pereira will need some time to heal up from injury, and that they could meet early next year, perhaps in the spring.
“Yes, yes I believe I’m next,” Prochazka said confidently to Cageside Press backstage at Oktagon 79 on Saturday. In response to the question of when, the former titleholder replied with a shrug, “March…April?”
I Know My Body Well
When Pereira prevailed that night, it made Prochazka emotional in ways he was not expecting. A combination of the reality of “Poatan” holding the belt again, watching someone he has come to respect reaching the top of the ladder, and witnessing an unpopular champ get dethroned may have played a factor in his feelings that night. Above all, the Czech knockout artist was excited with the prospect of being able to face Pereira again for gold.
That excitement is so strong for Prochazka, he has even thought about abandoning his division if he does not get to face Pereira again. “Poatan” has floated the possibility of relocating to heavyweight to challenge Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall for a belt. If at all possible, however, Prochazka would like to remain in the division where he made his bones, as he fought in the division for almost the entirety of his career other than his appearances in the Rizin heavyweight and openweight Grand Prix tournaments in 2015 and 2016, respectively. If he went anywhere, Prochazka would drop to 185 pounds, and not move up in weight again.
“For me, cutting to 93 kg [205 lbs] is not a problem,” Prochazka told Cageside Press. “I think dropping to 84 kg [185 lbs] would be really something. I believe I can make it with my body because I know my body well, so I can make it. But it depends, I first want to bring the title to Czech Republic, light heavyweight.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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