Jiri Prochazka says the ball is in Dana White's court for his next UFC title run: "I pushed that in my first three fights"
Jiri Prochazka is not thirsting for another immediate title shot and is content with Dana White taking the call on when he would get his next crack at a UFC gold. While Prochazka was once touted as the next big thing at light heavyweight, his back-to-back losses against Alex Pereira have compromised his indomitable aura.
The former light-heavyweight champion is set to take on another former champion in Jamahal Hill at UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Many believe a win against 'Sweet Dreams' would put him back in the title conversation.
However, when ESPN MMA's Carlos Contreras asked Prochazka if he sees himself fighting for the title win a win at LA or if he'd need one more victory before being back in the title picture, the Czech national offered an intriguing insight:
"This is not up to me. It's about the UFC, the organization, Dana White, and all these guys who do the matchmaking."
The 32-year-old, however, revealed that he won't be fast-tracking his way to a title shot like he did the first time around, and is more focused on dominating each opponent along the way:
"Right now, I will not be pushing myself like the first time, like 'I need to go for the title fight, I need to go for the title fight.' Like I pushed that in my first three fights in UFC. Right now I want to really directly win from opponent to opponent."
Check out Jiri Prochazka's comments below (3:08):
Furthermore, 'BJP' added that he intends to eventually take on the likes of Magomed Ankalaev and Pereira.
Jamahal Hill explains difference between his and Jiri Prochazka's defeats against Alex Pereira
Jamahal Hill is fuming after Jiri Prochakza slammed his performance against Alex Pereira. 'Sweet Dreams' believes it is unfair to compare his loss to 'Poatan' to that of Prochazka's.
Hill suffered a first-round KO when he faced the Brazilian at UFC 300, while 'BJP' was TKO'd in the second round by Pereira at UFC 303. Despite this, in a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, the 33-year-old explained why Prochazka's loss to the heavyweight champion was much more revealing:
"[In] your last performance, you got dominated. Dominated and knocked out, completely shut down, completely exposed, and then got done bad bro. You got did bad, I got caught. You got dominated, it's a huge difference."
Check out Jamahal Hill's comments on Jiri Prochazka below (5:56):