"He really came in here, took his opportunities" - Daniel Cormier doesn't see Jiri Prochazka sitting inactive waiting for a title shot
Daniel Cormier has weighed in on Jiri Prochazka's recent UFC win over Dominick Reyes and believes the Czech fighter should be fighting for the UFC light heavyweight championship soon.
Cormier compared Jiri Prochazka's hype to Khamzat Chimaev's and noted how the former already has a better resume than Chimaev after competing just twice.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion said that Prochazka's victories over former title contenders Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes should be enough for him to fight for the light heavyweight belt. Cormier said:
"Normally at 2-0 and I'm gonna talk about Khamzat [Chimaev]. This is the last guy that we've seen has had this type of hype coming into the UFC but Khamzat fought two dudes I can't even remember their names and Gerald Meerschaert. Phillips and Rhys McKee, right? He fought those two young guys and he fought Gerald Meerschaert, who's a guy that has been around for a while but you can't mistake him for a Top 10 guy because he's never been in there. This dude Jiri has fought Volkan Oezdemir, who probably was 6th at the time and had fought for the UFC Championship. Then he fought Dominick Reyes, who had fought for the UFC Championship, who was ranked #3 in the world. So it's not like he has taken a slow approach to making his way into the title picture. He really came in here, took his opportunities and grasped them and he should be fighting for the belt."
DC also added that a fight between Jiri Prochazka and Aleksandar Rakic could be a possibility, especially if the former wants to stay active. If not, Prochazka might have to wait until next year to fight the winner of the bout between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira. Cormier continued:
"I think if you're Prochazka and you wanna fight, right? You do Rakic because then there is no question as to whether or not you're getting the title fight. If you can get through him."
Jiri Prochazka will keep a close eye on the next UFC light heavyweight title fight
The next UFC light heavyweight title fight is scheduled for UFC 266 in September between reigning champion Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira. Jiri Prochazka will definitely keep an eye on how things unfold later this year as he is potentially next in the queue to fight for light heavyweight gold.