Jiri Prochazka likes his chances against Dricus Du Plessis.
After coming up short against reigning light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira on two separate occasions, ‘BJP’ is strongly considering a move down to 185 for a potential clash with the middleweight division’s current king, depending on how things played out in his UFC 305 headliner against two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya.
“If Adesanya wins, I’ll stay in the light heavyweight division, but if Du Plessis wins, I’ll follow him,” Prochazka said on his YouTube channel. “I’ll clear things up a bit there and take the belt. But I feel good and strong in the light heavyweight division, even though the guys there are a bit heavier. Almost all of them. So I have to say that I have no problem physically and strength-wise, or in any way, with clearing them out.
“But it would certainly be a challenge for me to go for the belt in the 185-pound division and then move up. But I’ll really let it flow and see how it unfolds.”
Of course, ‘DDP’ scored a fourth-round submission victory over the ‘Stylebender’ to retain his gold and keep his unbeaten streak inside the Octagon intact.
Prochazka is one of the bigger fighters at 205 with some suggesting that he could even make the move to heavyweight one day. Still, the Czech superstar seems confident that he can make the cut to middleweight without compromising any of his strength or stamina.
Jiri Prochazka is considering a move down to middleweight following Dricus du Plessis’ win 👀
“I’ve been considering that if Adesanya wins, I’ll stay in the light heavyweight division, but if du Plessis wins I’ll follow him.
I’ll clear things up a bit there and take the belt…… pic.twitter.com/YnV13CYtmp
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 25, 2024
Jiri Prochazka No Longer Concerned with Alex Pereira’s Black Magic
With Prochazka boasting one of the most unique fighting styles inside the Octagon, a fight with someone as equally unorthodox as Dricus Du Plessis could prove to be both bizarre and entertaining. And let’s be honest, bizarre is kind of Prochazka’s forte.
In the weeks leading up to his UFC 303 rematch with Alex Pereira, ‘BJP’ threw everyone a curveball when he accused Pereira of using magic spells to win his fights—or something like that.
However, Prochazka appears to have given all of that up, instead choosing to focus his energy on something more positive.
“As for the black magic, over the past year, I’ve channeled that energy into other things, started focusing too much on different sources of strength rather than solely on my own,” Prochazka said when asked about Pereira. “And I think that was the main issue; then came the magic and all those other things. That just came along with it.
“Seeing that Pereira was doing certain things, I just grabbed onto that. And I, by indulging in those practices, fell into the same trap as [Aleksandar] Rakic did before the fight by talking about me and labeling me in a certain way. I’ve never paid attention to the opponent’s trash talk before, and I never will again. Because it’s just a sign of insecurity and weakness, and somehow it just crept in. Now it’s time to work on it.”
Watch the full video below:
