Jiri Prochazka teases drop to middleweight on eve of Dricus du Plessis' title clash against Israel Adesanya: "Let's see who will win tomorrow"
Following his second loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 303, Jiri Prochazka's coach hinted at his fighter making a potential move to middleweight. Two months later, 'BJP' has admitted that the team is still seriously considering the career move.
As a member of the fighter panel present for the UFC 305 fan Q&A event, Prochazka was asked for his current stance on a divisional change by a reporter. With the Q&A session being held a day before UFC 305, Prochazka said he will look to see who wins the middleweight title fight on Aug. 17 before making an official decision.
Prochazka said:
"I'm just recharging. I need to keep calm right now, be in training, and keep my answer inside. So let's see who will win tomorrow and maybe that will [influence] my answer."
Check out Jiri Prochazka's comments below:
The 31-year-old mentioned his desire to wait for the winner of the UFC 305 main event featuring Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya. Prochazka has no connection to either fighter.
Prochazka was one of four fighters on stage for the event, next to Alexander Volkanovski, Jack Della Maddalena, and Carlos Ulberg.
Has Jiri Prochazka ever fought at middleweight before?
Although Jiri Prochazka once reigned over the UFC light heavyweight division as the undisputed champion, 'BJP' and his team feel like a move to middleweight could be the best decision for his career in 2024. However, as a 6-foot-4 fighter who has never looked undersized in the octagon, Prochazka has never fought at 185 pounds before in his career.
Instead, Prochazka has briefly competed at heavyweight before as a member of RIZIN. The Czech went 2-1 at heavyweight from 2015 to 2016 while competing in the 2015 RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Prochazka's lone loss at heavyweight came in the RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix final to UFC veteran Muhammad 'King Mo' Lawal. The loss was just the third of his career and would be his final defeat before riding a 13-fight win streak into his first fight with Alex Pereira.
Aside from the heavyweight tournament in RIZIN, Prochazka fought the 33 remaining fights in his career at light heavyweight.