Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka sends a strong message to Khamzat Chimaev!
Jiri Prochazka has been out of action since defending his title against Glover Teixeira at UFC 275. While he was scheduled for a rematch of that fight in December 2022, he had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury. In the meanwhile, Jamahal Hill has taken the opportunity to capture the belt in Jiri’s absence. Although the Czech Republic native was eyeing a title shot on his return, an unlikely opponent has emerged recently.
Swedish superstar, Khamzat Chimaev recently had an interview with Ariel Helwani. During his appearance, Chimaev spoke about his grappling prowess. Fans have recently seen him rag-doll Kevin Holland at UFC 279 and Neal Magny during sparring. While his list of victims is incredibly long, Khamzat caught the fans off-guard with his comments on Jiri Prochazka.
According to Chimaev, he trained with Prochazka before both got into the UFC. “The Borz” added, “Me and Jiri (trained together) long time before when he was fighting (in) RIZIN, I was fighting in Brave. We was training together in gym… I see me submit him many times, I beat him many times. How he became a champ, how I don’t know, maybe its too (many) bad fighters in this division.”
Jiri Prochazka responds to Khamzat Chimaev claiming many wins over him
Jiri Porchazka is a man of honor and his decision to vacate the title after his injury is a testament to that. Fighters often spar with many of their competitors in the gym and usually, what happens in a gym sparring session, stays a secret. Hence. Khamzat Chimaev’s comments about him beating Jiri “many times” during sparring sessions, did not go down well with Jiri.
The former champ took to his Instagram account and said, “Which person needs to speak, again and again, about all this 4 years old information, gym inside information? When we will meet next time in a cage, I will show you my true power. I will not take it lightly more. Don’t speak about others too much.” If the fans had any doubt about who the video was addressed to, Jiri tagged Khamzat to leave no doubt.
Khamzat Chimaev seemed to somewhat rectify the situation by responding to Prochazka via direct messages. He took a screenshot of his conversation and posted it on his Instagram story. While he did seem to show some respect to his former sparring partner, the 28-year-old also took it as an opportunity to issue a call-out. Chimaev seemingly wants to fight Jiri in Sweden later in the summer.
Previously, Chimaev did confirm that he wants to make his return to the Octagon after Ramadan. Hence, June or July would be the perfect window for his return. UFC President Dana White has also confirmed that the UFC is looking to hold an event in Sweden. So it will be a great occasion for Khamzat to fight in front of his home fans.
As for Jiri Prochazka, he is set to challenge the light heavyweight champ whenever he is ready to fight. But, will he take a detour and face Chimaev first? Only time will tell.
