"He's kind of crazy" - Michael Bisping believes Jiri Prochazka will hold the UFC light heavyweight title by the end of end of 2022
Jiri Prochazka has quickly climbed up the UFC light heavyweight ladder with back-to-back second-round knockouts since arriving on MMA's biggest stage. UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping believes 'Denisa' will be standing atop the division by this time next year.
According to 'The Count', there is no denying the fact that current champion Glover Teixeira is no spring chicken. While there is no dearth of challengers at 205 pounds, Bisping believes it is Prochazka who will eventually rule the division.
In a discussion video for BT Sport, the former UFC middleweight champion said:
"I think Jiri Prochazka. I think he gets his shot. I think when he fights glover Teixeira, it's not gonna be easy because we haven't seen the takedown defense and the ground grappling; the jiu-jitsu and the scrambling ability of Jiri Prochazka. But I think, on the feet, the man's powerful, he's unorthodox, he's kind of crazy in many ways. And that's kind of the key to his success. He is very unorthodox and unpredictable. And I think this time, next year Prochazka will be ruling the roost at 205 [pounds]."
Catch Michael Bisping's video with BT Sport below:
Jiri Prochazka is likely to fight for the title next
Prochazka knocked out Volkan Oezdemir in his promotional debut at UFC 251 in 2020. Prochazka followed that up with an incredible spinning-elbow KO of Dominick Reyes in the UFC Vegas 25 main event last May.
Prochazka then served as the backup for the title fight between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira at UFC 267. He's now expected to be next in line for a title shot.
However, that did not go down well with fellow title contender Aleksandar Rakic, who accused Prochazka of ducking him.
If he's getting the title shot why did the UFC offer me two days ago to fight him for a #1 contender fight? 🤔
Responding to Rakic's claim, 'Denisa' told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour:
"I’m a little bit disappointed from that, because my coach, he showed me that tweet before and that’s, man, this is so disrespectful. That’s bad. And the information, that the UFC offered him that fight, that’s not true. That’s not true. I have it from my guys, from my manager, who’s speaking with the UFC, and they said that’s not true what he wrote. That’s showing he’s just a liar."
Watch Prochazka's appearance on The MMA Hour below: