“I Thought I’d Try”: Jiri Prochazka Plans an Unusual Shift in His UFC Career if Light Heavyweight Title Is Won

‘The Czech Samurai’ Jiri Prochazka is back with a bang, giving fans a war at UFC 300 against Aleksandar Rakić. He steamrolled the #5 ranked lightweight in a slugfest. While challenge is the buzzword for the Czech knockout artist, he has topped it off by announcing his move to middleweight!

In a sport where fighters usually move up the weight class for durability, considering how strenuous and exhausting weight cuts can be, Prochazka is going against the grain.

Popular combat sports page Championship Rounds broke the news on X, sharing a clip of the fighter dropping the massive revelation.

However, the 31-year-old also cleared the air, mentioning that the unusual shift would only happen after he got his sweet revenge. Needless to say, Prochazka is eyeing vengeance against the man who handed him his first loss in eight years – Alex Pereira.

When asked about his move to heavyweight, Prochazka, in his usual calm, cool manner, stated,

“Rather than heavyweight, I thought, I’d try middleweight. Because the way I feel my metabolism now, and the way my body works in preparation, so, I know that if I adjust my diet to where I feel great and clean, I know I could handle the middleweight division, with some lighter diet. But I would definitely concentrate on that after winning the light heavyweight title.” 

From his unique Muay Thai-inspired hairdo to his wild, unorthodox fighting style, Jiri Prochazka has certainly impressed everyone. His ability to adapt and think on his feet was well on display in his title fight against veteran Glover Teixeira.

Though the Czech warrior was able to sink in a rear naked choke in the final minute to submit the veteran, his prodigy Alex Pereira avenged his mentor and friend by means of TKO.

Despite the loss against Pereira, he hasn’t slowed down a bit. Coming off his slugfest against Rakic, Prochazka has made a bold revelation that he is willing to reclaim his crown in two weeks at UFC 301.

Prochazka, ready to go to war against Pereira – ” I am open to take a date in Brazil…”

The build-up to the Jiri Prochazka vs Pereira was next level, a proper modern samurai going up against a stone-faced killer. An unorthodox fighter against a seasoned two-division champion kickboxer, the parallels were incredible. The two men stared down at each other, sizing each other up until the bell rang.

Pereira started off things with his stiff low kick, which put the Czech in a precarious position, often seen losing balance. But Prochazka, being the warrior he was, soldiered on until Pereira touched him with that left hand. The 31-year-old was knocked down, after which the Brazilian rained down hammer fists to seal the deal.

However, it looks like that’s in the past now. Speaking to Ariel Helwani in his ‘The MMA Hour’ podcast, the Prochazka shared his psyche, saying,

“As soon as possible. If that will be for a title with Alex [Pereira], I am open to take a date in Brazil… Yeah, like in two weeks… I had a full training camp before this fight and this training camp was much more; for me, it was like [laughs] I trained much more [against Rakic] than for the fight with Pereira.”

Prochazka also mentioned the struggles and health worries he had while he was preparing for Pereira. He said,

“For Pereira, I trained [laughs] just almost just six days or one week. Yeah because there was a lot of struggles and all these staph infections and antibiotics. Doesn’t matter.”

With just six days of training and several health concerns, Prochazka valiantly took on one of the most intimidating and elite kickboxers on the planet. Despite falling short, he is confident that this time, he will have Pereira’s title, along with redemption.