In 2019, Jiri Prochazka (30-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) successfully defended his Rizin Light Heavyweight Championship in the promotion’s New Year’s Eve show, the last fight on his contract. A few weeks later, Prochazka, then out of contract with Rizin Fighting Federation, departed the promotion and turned his attention to the No. 1 organization in the world, the UFC.
After the UFC was forced to put live action on pause, like every other sports league in the civilized world, in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Prochazka made his promotional debut, sans live audience and on Fight Island in the United Arab Emirates, that July during UFC 251. That night, he scored a second-round TKO versus Volkan Oezdemir.
It was Ozedemir’s first loss by knockout in his career. On Jan. 15, it’ll have been five years to the day since Prochazka officially joined Dana White’s promotion. Three days later, his 2025 itinerary opens up in a big way.
Prochazka Collides with Hill in First Pay-Per-View of New Year
Jan. 18 sees the UFC go to pay-per-view for the first time in 2025 and it’ll do so in a new arena. UFC 311 marks the promotion’s first-ever visit to the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA, which just opened up for business earlier this year and serves as the home court for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.
Jiri Prochazka, the No. 2 contender at 205 lbs., will be making the walk to the Octagon that Saturday evening when he locks horns for a battle between another former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, No. 3 contender Jamahal Hill (12-2, 1 NC MMA, 6-2, 1 NC UFC). News of the Prochazka/Hill pairing became official on Saturday following the UFC Macau main event.
The Jan. 18 contest at Intuit Dome comes with some high stakes. A bout with current titleholder Alex Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who just defended the 205-lb. belt in October during UFC 303’s main event versus Khalil Rountree Jr. (13-6, 1 NC MMA, 9-6, 1 NC UFC) could be in the offing later on in the new year for the victor of the tilt coming up in the winter.
https://twitter.com/jiri_bjp/status/1860385431436619944
Prochazka Looking to Get Back in Win Column Jan. 18
Jiri Prochazka will enter UFC 311 in January having posted a mark of 3-2 in his last five fights. Most recently, he sustained a second-round knockout by way of head kick versus the aforementioned Alex Pereira in June of this year during UFC 303, the finale of International Fight Week 2024, from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
A win for Prochazka over Hill could open up a chance at revenge for the second-ranked contender at 205 lbs. Since joining the UFC in 2020, he’s already fought Alex Pereira twice, with Prochazka coming up short each time.
The last time that Prochazka had a sustained winning streak was between April of 2016 and May of 2021, during which time he scored 11 victories in succession, including his stint as Rizin Light Heavyweight Champion from April of 2019 to his departure from Rizin in January of 2020.
Since joining the UFC in July of 2020, Jiri Prochazka has yet to face off against Jamahal Hill inside the famed Octagon, so will he be able to pick up an important victory on Jan. 18?
Hill Back After Nine Months Away
In the other corner, Jamahal Hill will return to the UFC on Jan. 18 for his first fight since two planned bookings for UFC 303 on June 29 went awry. Initially, he was slated to square off against Khalil Rountree Jr. that night before the contest was scrubbed after it was revealed that Rountree accidentally took a supplement featuring DHEA, on the list of forbidden substances by the promotion.
Rountree was then handed a two-month ban upon disclosing the violation on his own accord. Subsequent to the Rountree withdrawal, Hill was then booked to fight Carlos Ulberg, who fought Saturday night during the UFC Macau main card.
That pairing, too, went unrealized after the former bowed out from UFC 303 for good because of injury. As far as his record over the last five fights goes, Hill will enter the UFC 311 co-main event with a record of 3-2, including a unanimous decision victory over Glover Teixeira (33-9 MMA, 16-7 UFC) during UFC 283’s main event in January of 2023, the latter’s retirement bout.
Jamahal Hill will have been out of action for a little more than nine months by the time the cage door shuts on Jan 18, having last appeared during the landmark UFC 300. After that April appearance, Hill took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to advocate for a fight against Prochazka in the future.
https://twitter.com/JamahalH/status/1779907182722777514
Final Thoughts
Any combat sports promotion wants to come out of the gates strong in the first show of the year. If this pairing holds together, they’ll have hit the proverbial baseball over the fence for a round-tripper once again.
