15-05-2025
Jiri Passed On Title Fight For Exams?!
We always imagined being a UFC matchmaker must be like herding cats, and the past few weeks is proof of that.
Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria was arguably the biggest fight the UFC could have booked for UFC 317. But because Makhachev has different ideas about his future and legacy, he decided to vacate the lightweight title and sit out until the end of the year so he can fight Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title.
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Now Topuria will fight Charles Oliveira for the 155 pound strap at International Fight Week card in Las Vegas. The card also could have featured Jiri Prochazka, potentially in a light heavyweight title fight against champion Magomed Ankalaev.
Normally, the 'Czech Samurai' is prepared to emerge from the woods and fight at the drop of a hat if it gets him a step closer to the belt. But when the UFC offered him a spot on UFC 317, he turned them down.
'We had one offer for a match, but everything is being postponed because of school,' Prochazka's coach Matin Karaivanov told 'Once he finishes it, we will continue negotiations.'
Jiri is currently attending Masaryk University in Brno where he's working on a Security and Strategic Studies degree, and the finals are in June.
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Now we're left wondering what fight Prochazka passed up to focus on his schoolwork. Recently, Ankalaev claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that the UFC offered him a fight on the June pay-per-view card, just days after his rival Alex Pereira's X account featured a 'hacked' message.
'If they want to play with me, we can do that,' the message read. 'I've never spoken poorly of the UFC but with what I've just heard I'm disheartened. I've already had thoughts of not fighting anymore, and after what was just relayed to me this may be the start.'
We have reports that Ankalaev vs. Pereira was indeed proposed by the UFC as a potential main event for UFC 317, but Pereira wasn't willing to take the pivotal rematch on short notice. While this is just speculation, could the UFC have then gone to Prochazka about fighting Ankalaev?
Whatever happened behind the scenes to make UFC 317's main event finally come together just shows you how crazy it must be trying to book all these fights. You've got champions turning down superfights and challengers turning down potential title fights for a hundred different reasons.
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If you're wondering why it's a struggle for some fights to get booked, this is it. The UFC has over 600 people they're wrangling, and each one is pulling in their own direction.
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