Jiri Prochaska, former light heavyweight champion and recent UFC 295 main event participant, has agreed to face undefeated middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev in Chimaev’s debut at 205 pounds. This follows a call-out from Chimaev, who expressed interest in a potential matchup.
Prochaska headlined UFC 295 earlier this month, but suffered a defeat at the hands of former middleweight titleholder at Madison Square Garden. Pereira secured a TKO victory in the second round against Prochaska.
Chimaev, currently ranked No. 9 in the middleweight division, improved his professional record to 13-0 with a narrow majority decision win over former welterweight champion in the co-main event at UFC 294 in October. He managed to secure the decision victory over the former pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman, who returned to the Octagon. Despite being slated for a championship eliminator against Auchi native Usman, Chimaev missed out on a middleweight title bout against Drikas du Plessis, as per UFC CEO Dana White’s insistence. If booked to face Pereira at 205 pounds, Chimaev believes he would “finish” the knockout artist from Sao Paulo.
Jiri Prochaska proposes a fight with Khamzat Chimaev at the light heavyweight limit
Hailing from the Czech Republic, Prochaska seems irked by Chimaev’s statements and has extended an offer to fight him upon his return to the Czech Republic, potentially setting the stage for a light heavyweight showdown between the two.
“Welcome to the LHW division,” wrote Jiri Prochaska in a response to Khamzat Chimaev on his official Twitter account.
Prior to his loss to Brazilian favorite Pereira in the light heavyweight title bout, Prochaska secured the 205-pound title in June with a five-round rear-naked choke submission victory over Glover Teixeira, who happened to be Prochaska’s training partner.
In his first two appearances in the Octagon, Prochaska clinched significant knockout wins against former title contenders Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes.
In a hypothetical match, who do you think would emerge victorious between Jiri Prochaska and Khamzat Chimaev?
