Jiri Prochazka
Is Jiri Prochazka destined to be the next Light Heavyweight champion in the UFC? The short answer? Yes.
The Long Answer
I will be the first to admit, going into UFC Vegas 25 I had not heard a lot about Prochazka. I will always do my research before all events we cover here at Vendetta, and the footage I saw on him was fantastic. We will break down more about him shortly, but it would appear that the Light Heavyweight division in the UFC has a new contender. After his KO of the year nominee of Dominick Reyes, he cracked the top 2 in the rankings, and he definitely should be next in line for the title at 205.
Career
Let’s talk about his career up to this point. At 28, he is already such an experienced fighter, having 31 professional fights under his belt. Of those 31 fights, 28 have been wins with 25 by KO/TKO and 2 by submission. This guy just refuses to leave the fight in the hands of the judges. Jiri Prochazka came over to the UFC last year after a wildly successful run in Rizin. He has two fights in the UFC so far, both being second-round KOs of former title challengers in Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir. Prochazka is riding an impressive 12 fight win streak between the two companies.
This Dude Is A Mauler
Next, let’s talk about his fighting style. Good god is he a finisher. Like I mentioned above, 27 or his 28 wins in his carer have come by some sort of finish. Prochazka has massive power in either hand and has shown power in his legs as well. He lands at a 45% accuracy clip but what makes his striking impressive is his 5.6 significant strikes per minute. This means that he is a pure headhunter looking to knock people out cold and to do it fast. His average octagon time so far is 5:49. Making quick work of his opponents is his strong suit.
All The Potential In The World
Lastly, I can’t go without talking about his potential and what should be his next fight. Jiri Prochazka is only 28 years old, so he has all the time in the world to just keep getting better. Looking at who could be holding the title next in Jan Blachowicz or Glover Teixeira (38 and 42 respectfully) it would be hard to argue picking against the younger man here who is a finishing monster. I know that Blachowicz just defeated Israel Adesanya back in March of this year, but this just feels different.
Recap
With all this being said, I would find it hard to believe we aren’t looking at the next king of the 205 pound division in the UFC in Jiri Prochazka. He has everything you need in terms of drawing power, he has shown the ability to knock the lights out of anyone and he is super young in division. Dana White should absolutely name him the number one contender, no matter the outcome of Blachowicz and Teixeira in September.
