Jiri Prochazka urged against drop to middleweight: 'He's borderline psychiatric, he could do it'
29/04/2024 16:39
Former undisputed light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka has been urged against a potential drop to the middleweight limit of 185lbs by former divisional champion, Robert Whittaker – who described the Czech Republic native as "borderline psychiatric".
Prochazka, a former undisputed light heavyweight champion, managed to land himself the number one rank at the divisional limit once more after UFC 300 earlier this month – turning in a stunning come-from-behind knockout win over fellow European talent, Aleksandar Rakic.
And weighing up a potential rematch with former-foe, Alex Pereira in an attempt to reclaim light heavyweight championship spoils after his victory over Rakic, Prochazka also claimed if he wanted to pursue a middleweight move in the future, he could likely make weight without issue.
However, the above-mentioned, Whittaker – who made the move from welterweight to middleweight where he found his stunning Octagon form en route to an undisputed title win, urged Prochazka away from a drop to 185lbs.
Jiri Prochazka urged to consider middleweight move
"I think he (Jiri Prochazka) has the mentality to get to 84kg (185 pounds), don't get me wrong, the dude is borderline psychiatric," Robert Whittaker told MMArcadeduring a recent podcast appearance. "If he wants to get to 84kg, he'll do it – whether or not it'll be a good move is hard to say."
"I can't see him at 84kg, I've seen him in real life," Whittaker explained. "I've been up close with him and he's a big dude, it's not just like he's physical like he's got a big frame, he's got wide shoulders, he's quite tall like 6'4 – he's a big, big guy."
A career light heavyweight, Prochazka, a former RIZIN FF champion, struck UFC gold back in 2021 in a trip to Singapore, rallying to land a highlight-reel fifth round rear-naked choke win over defending champion, Glover Teixeira.
Do you think JIri Prochazka could find success at 185 pounds?
