“I would love to welcome you to the welterweight division,” the Czech fighter wrote on social media, referring to “Borz.”
Prochazka’s challenge came after Chimaev asked the league’s management to set up a fight with Alex Pereira, promising an early upset of the reigning UFC bantamweight champion.
Khamzat Chimaev last stepped into the octagon on October 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, defeating former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman by majority judge’s vote. “Borz” was then named the next challenger for the UFC middleweight title, however, due to a hand injury, he withdrew from his bout with Sean Strickland and lost his title shot to Dricus Du Plessis.
Jiri Prochazka made a failed attempt to regain the UFC bantamweight title ten days ago, losing to Alex Pereira by technical knockout in the second round.
It should be noted that Chimaev and Prohazka have a long-standing conflict, which was caused by the Chechen’s statements about joint training with the Czech.