Since making his way into the UFC in 2020, Jiri Prochazka has only lost twice, and that too, only against Alex Pereira. After the second loss, he regrouped with two impressive knockout wins. But then, Prochazka brought up the possibility of him moving to the middleweight division, saying, “I think to 84 kg, like middleweight, will be really, really something. I believe I can make it with my body, because I know my body,” in an interview not too long ago.

A move down in the weight class for Jiri Prochazka will certainly give us many interesting matchups. A second divisional title is also a lucrative goal for any fighter. Meanwhile, it turns out the real objective for the former light heavyweight champion is not moving to 185 lbs immediately, but to replicate Alex Pereira‘s accolades, as the Brazilian star is looking to fight Jon Jones at the White House.

Jiri Prochazka wants to become a 2-time champ before the middleweight jump

Jiri Prochazka is seeking a shot at redemption against Alex Pereira, even though he’s aware that ‘Poatan’ only wants Jon Jones. After all, ‘Bones’ has been looking for fights to add to his legacy, and for him, nothing’s bigger now than fighting Pereira. Prochazka seems to be okay with that, but he has made his message loud and clear: he wants his next fight to be for the title. “I want to fight with Alex Pereira. Third fight. That’s all. That’s my opinion,” the Czech star said in an interview with Michael Bisping and Paul Felder.

He further added, “Everybody talks about him and Jones. If that will be the plan… I wish him the best, or let the better [man] win… So, next move, I wanna fight for the title… It doesn’t matter who will be the opponent.” We can’t be sure whether Alex Pereira and Jon Jones will receive the nod from Dana White. Even if they do get the green light, there is no way to be sure at what weight the fight takes place, and if the 205 lbs belt will be on the line.

Amid the uncertainty, a much safer bet would be for Jiri Prochazka to go down and challenge Khamzat Chimaev. But the middleweight move will have to wait. The Czech star intends to bring the title back to his country and become a 2-time light heavyweight champion first. “I answered for this question about the middleweight [move]. I will go there, but I will go there if I win the title fight in the light heavyweight [division]. That’s the point,” Prochazka added.

On the other hand, Joe Rogan seems to have an idea about Jiri Prochazka’s next move. He named another contender who’s in the title conversation and pitched for Alex Pereira to vacate the light heavyweight title. Here’s what he had to say.

Joe Rogan wants Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg to fight for the vacant belt

Carlos Ulberg added yet another win to his UFC record at UFC 320, making it nine wins in a row. Joe Rogan, much like many others, is convinced that he should get a chance to fight for the belt. Ulberg was already ready to step in as the backup for the UFC 320 main event, but that did not happen. Now, with Alex Pereira seemingly gunning for Jon Jones, the UFC color commentator suggests ‘Poatan’ drops the belt if the fight takes place in the heavyweight division. “Oh yeah, if ‘Poatan’ decides to go up,” he said on his JRE podcast.

Well, Jiri Prochazka seems to have no issues with Joe Rogan’s suggestion and had nothing but praise for the New Zealand star. “Let’s go for that. He’s a great fighter; he’s proved that many times. He’s very talented, really good kickboxing base, and he’s fast. He’s fresh, yeah, he has good movement on his legs, very light. Let’s see what will be the next step,” Prochazka told Bloody Elbow.

Well, there is no clarity at the moment about what Dana White has planned for the heavyweight title scene. Alex Pereira’s future is also uncertain because the CEO hasn’t denied or guaranteed him a place on the White House card. How do you think this affects Jiri Prochazka’s dream of becoming champion again? Drop your comments below.