The UFC light heavyweight division will have a new face with the signing of 27-year-old Rizin Fighting Federation light heavyweight champion Jiri “Denisa” Prochazka. This was first reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on January 15.
There was a brief time that Prochazka was linked to Bellator, with a potential matchup with Bellator heavyweight and Light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader. Bader had called Prochazka out, but Prochazka ended up going to the UFC instead.
Prochazka is currently on a 10 fight winning streak, with his last win being a 1st round knockout win over CB Dollaway at Rizin 20 on December 31, 2019. He also has knockout wins over former UFC light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado and “King Mo” Muhammad Lawal. Brett Okamoto also reports that “The UFC has not yet announced Prochazka promotional debut.”