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In a little under two weeks in Singapore, Jiri Prochazka will challenge for the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title in only his third fight for the organization. While this was once not so uncommon of an event during the days when UFC only ran a few events per year and a great many elite fighters fought outside the organization, Prochazka finds himself in rare company when it comes to modern UFC.
Putting aside the more recently created divisions in which there was no option but to put fighters with little to no UFC experience in title fights, only five fighters besides Prochazka have challenged for a UFC title with two or fewer UFC fights in the last 15 years. UFC usually looks for promotional newcomers to prove themselves much more before receiving a title shot, even if they have accomplished great things in other organizations. Prochazka joins Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, Dan Henderson, Gilbert Melendez and Michael Chandler in that exclusive club.
In that company, Prochazka’s rapid rise is even more striking. Prochazka’s record is gaudy to be sure, but dominating in Rizin Fighting Federation is a far cry from being the champion of Pride Fighting Championships, Strikeforce or Bellator MMA. His list of opponents, aside from Bellator kingpin Vadim Nemkov, was below what you’d expect from a Professional Fighters League fighter, let alone the murderer’s row Dan Henderson faced prior to his title unification bout with Quinton Jackson “Rampage” at UFC 75. Nor is Prochazka anything resembling the drawing card Brock Lesnar was when he was rushed into a heavyweight title fight. Lesnar is a 1-of-1 in that group.
Prochazka receiving his shot this early to a significant degree speaks to the state of the light heavyweight division. Once the marquee division in the sport, defined not only by some of the biggest superstars but also by depth of talent, the 205 pound division is now arguably one of the weaker in the sport. It’s hard to even figure what happened, but there wasn’t a long line of strong challengers after Glover Teixeira dispatched former champion Jan Blachowicz strongly enough that it was hard to justify an immediate rematch.
Prochazka’s rise, however, goes deeper than just a lack of options. It also speaks to his unique offensive qualities as one of the sport’s most dynamic and exciting fighters. Most great fighters have echoes of other great fighters, but there aren’t many fighters that it’s easy to analogize Prochazka to. He often marches straight forward and combines that with unusual head movement and a crouching stance that dares opponents to try to hit him. He throws jumping knees as often as any fighter you’re going to see and mixes in spinning attacks as well. There’s a fearlessness and machismo to it all.
Prochazka is able to fight so fearlessly because he is backed up by the rare gift of preternatural knockout power. The stats tell the story: 28 wins, 27 finishes. That isn’t deceptive in the least as he has left his opponents unconscious time and again. It remains to be seen if UFC competition will figure out his vulnerabilities and put an end to the dominance he has demonstrated against lesser opposition, but there is no question that his power is going to carry with him against the sport’s premier opponents. We’ve seen that already with Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes.
If you’re on Prochazka’s team, does Teixeira look like a good opponent for the biggest fight of his career or a bad one? It’s easy to make an argument both ways. On the one hand, Teixeira is 42 now and while a six fight win streak speaks to a fighter still at the top of his game, that’s a dangerous age against an opponent that is so quick and athletic. Teixeira has struggled in the past against his most athletic foes and a fighter’s chin often also becomes more vulnerable with age.
On the flip side, Teixeira has fought against tough opponents for two decades. He isn’t going to be intimidated by Prochazka and he’s more likely to recognize openings in Prochazka’s offense. Teixeira fits the mold of the type of experienced fighter that can stop a hype train, like when Jens Pulver upset B.J. Penn when Penn challenged for the title with a 3-0 record or when Matt Hughes submitted Georges St. Pierre to stop his bid for gold in his third UFC fight.
Looking back in a few years, Prochazka could look like an anomaly, someone who got a quick title shot before he’d proven over a longer period that his style translates to the top level of the sport. He could also validate his quick opportunity, showing why he was fast tracked and why big things were planned for him in such short order. It’s going to be fun to find out either way.