Jiri Prochazka explains turning down title fight against "big mouth" Magomed Ankalaev while sharing potential return timeline

Jiri Prochazka recently gave his take on declining a matchup against reigning champion Magomed Ankalaev, citing his reasons. In addition, Prochazka criticized Ankalaev's behavior outside the cage while discussing his octagon return.

For context, the promotion was considering Prochazka vs. Ankalaev for the light heavyweight title prior to finalizing the Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira matchup at UFC 317. According to his MMA coach Matin Karaivanov, the former champion turned down the fight due to his final exams in June as he is currently pursuing a 'Security and Strategic Studies' degree at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic.

In a recent conversation with Full Violence, Prochazka opened up about his studies and asserted that he will focus on Ankalaev once his exams are over.

''I’m studying university for right now, three years, everything is settled, everything is good. I’m after the [Ankalaev] fight, it’s a little bit of time. So right now I’m focused on my target. Right now, what’s most important to me, is school. He’s a big mouth guy, I don’t care if it’s him or his manager, because he did enough for people to stop taking him seriously. He will put himself down with all of this nonsense talking.”

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When asked about his return, Prochazka said:

''August, October, something like that. I believe Pereira isn’t going to fight [Ankalaev], so my manager is trying to keep negotiating the fight with Ankalaev. If Pereira will fight with him, I will fight with somebody else, but I’m focused on Ankalaev after that.”

Check out Jiri Prochazka's comments below:

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Ankalaev is expected to defend his 205-pound belt against Prochazka as the two have traded barbs on social media after the Russian's title win against Alex Pereira at UFC 313. Meanwhile, the Czech fighter is coming off a third-round knockout victory against Jamahal Hill at UFC 311.

When Jamahal Hill acknowledged Jiri Prochazka's choice to decline a title fight

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill spoke to Inside Fighting earlier this month and offered his thoughts on Jiri Prochazka prioritizing studies over MMA as mentioned above.

Hill respected Prochazka's decision:

''I believe that he's a man of certain principles and morals and things like that. If he's not willing to bypass those, if he feels this is important for something that he needs to do before he returns, I applaud him. If you have something you stand for, and you stand on it, I support you 100 percent.''

Check out Jamahal Hill's comments below (8:54):

About the author

Swagat is a dynamic MMA writer with a total experience of a little less than a year, which includes time in retail and sports journalism. He holds an MBA degree.

Swagat fell in love with the sport after watching the iconic grudge match between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in early 2015. Nate Diaz holds a special place in his heart for the Stockton native’s entertaining fan-friendly style and ability to deliver exciting fights regardless of the opponent.

In terms of rule changes in MMA, Swagat advocates for making scores public after each round, adding transparency to judging decisions.

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Edited by Swagat Kumar Jena