Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka has offered a response to recent claims made by Khamzat Chimaev.
This year, Chimaev and Prochazka have found themselves at odds. "Borz" has claimed that he beat Prochazka during sparring "many times." This led to the former 205-pound ruler warning Chimaev to shut his mouth or pay for his actions inside the UFC Octagon. Chimaev challenged Prochazka to a fight in Sweden, but obviously, that hasn't materialized.
More recently, Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports asked Jiri Prochazka about his beef with Khamzat Chimaev. It's clear that "BJP" doesn't want to keep entertaining the surging UFC middleweight.
"They can say whatever they want," Prozachka said. "It's not right to speak about all these things because it's preparation and training. What happened, happened. That's all. I'm ready to challenge everybody. It doesn't matter for me. I will train to compete and challenge the guys from light heavyweight, heavyweight and middleweight. For me, now is starting to be the part where I don't want to choose who will be my opponent. I'm just looking to be the best."
Both men have their own bouts coming up that need full attention. Kamaru Usman vs Khamzat Chimaev takes place this Saturday night (October 21) in the co-main event of UFC 294. Jiri Prochazka vs Alex Pereira will be contested for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in the co-main event of UFC 295 on November 11.
We might be a long way off from seeing Prochazka fight Chimaev, if we see it at all. The winner of Usman vs Chimaev has been promised the next shot at UFC middleweight gold. Prochazka is a weight class higher than "Borz," so perhaps this feud will be all talk going forward. With that said, never rule out anything in the world of MMA.
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