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Jiri Prochazka has reportedly arrived at the Fight Ready gym in Arizona to train with Henry Cejudo ahead of his UFC 274 fight against Glover Teixeira.
The consensus is that the Czech MMA stalwart's training with Cejudo at Fight Ready would primarily help sharpen his grappling skills to face a highly-skilled BJJ fighter like Teixeira.
Both Prochazka and freestyle wrestling Olympic gold-medalist Cejudo had previously hinted at the former coming to the US to train for his much-awaited clash against Teixeira. Former Rizin light heavyweight champion Prochazka is set to face reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira for the title at UFC 274 in May.
On that note, ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi took to Twitter to reveal that Prochazka has finally arrived at Fight Ready. ‘Denisa’ will now train with former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo, Eric Albarracin, and other veteran combat sports personalities at the Arizona gym.
Jiri Prochazka’s most recent fight was a second-round KO win over Dominick Reyes at UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Prochazka in May 2021. Meanwhile, Glover Teixeira’s most recent fight was a second-round submission win over Jan Błachowicz at UFC 267 in October 2021. The fight witnessed Teixeira win the UFC light heavyweight title and become the oldest first-time champion in UFC history.
MMA legend Michael Bisping believes Jiri Prochazka will capture the UFC light heavyweight title
In a recent BT Sport video, UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping suggested that Prochazka is likely to become the next UFC light heavyweight champion. ‘The Count’ believes that although a fight against Teixeira wouldn’t be easy, Prochazka will probably beat the Brazilian champion and sit atop the UFC light heavyweight throne.
Lauding Prochazka’s unorthodox fighting style and unpredictability, Bisping stated:
"I think Jiri Prochazka. I think he gets his shot. I think when he fights glover Teixeira, it's not gonna be easy because we haven't seen the takedown defense and the ground grappling; the jiu-jitsu and the scrambling ability of Jiri Prochazka. But I think, on the feet, the man's powerful, he's unorthodox, he's kind of crazy in many ways. And that's kind of the key to his success. He is very unorthodox and unpredictable. And I think this time, next year Prochazka will be ruling the roost at 205 [pounds]."
The fight is expected to headline the UFC 274 fight card. The championship clash will see Teixeira attempt to make his first title defense and the bout is also Prochazka's first title bout inside the UFC octagon.
