Expected to attempt his first defense of the undisputed light heavyweight championship later this summer in a long-awaited with former division champion, Jiri Prochazka, defending gold holder, Jamahal Hill now has a date in mind for their expected showdown.
Hill, a product of Dana White’s Contender Series, became the first feature from the format to strike gold under the UFC banner, securing a unanimous decision victory over common-foe and former undisputed champion, Glover Teixeira in their vacant title offing at UFC 283 in Brazi in January.
As for Czech Republic native, Prochazka, the former Rizin FF champion headlined UFC 275 back in June of last year against the above-mentioned, Teixeira, submitting the Minas Gerais native with a stunning, fifth round rear-naked choke – sans hooks in Singapore.
Suffering a debilitating shoulder injury ahead of a scheduled title defense and rematch with Teixeira back in December of last year, Prochazka elected to vacate his championship, in order to allow the division to carry on in his absence.
Jiri Prochazka eyes immediate title clash with Jamahal Hill in his UFC return
However, eyeing a return and immediate title fight with Hill in that comeback, Prochazka has been challenged to make an August 19. date by the Illinois native, who targets a UFC 292 return in Boston, Massachusetts.
“I don’t feel like it has to be a war,” Jamahal Hill said of a fight with Jiri Prochazka during an interview with MMA Junkie. “I feel like my skill level is vastly past that of his own. I feel like he’s a very physical dude. He’s strong, he’s got some natural physical attributes, but the skill and understanding on the level that I understand this sh*t? He’s not there.”
“I was just watching his fights the other day, he’s not that guy,” Jamahal Hill explained. “I can’t wait to get him in there. I truly can’t wait to get him in there so he can see what it’s like. It’s going to be funny. I’m going to beat the dog sh*t out [of] that man.”