Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka is scheduled to fight Khalil Rountree Jr. as part of the upcoming UFC 320 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas. That said, the promotion told “BJP” he will also be serving as the emergency backup for the UFC 320 title fight between defending 205-pound champion Magomed Ankalaev and ex-division titleholder Alex Pereira.
“That was the deal with UFC,” Prochazka told Ariel Helwani.
Both Ankalaev and Pereira have pretty good track records when it comes to making their commitments so don’t expect Rountree Jr. to be losing any sleep over the possibility that he’ll be left high and dry at UFC 320. As for Prochazka, “War Horse” was not his first choice — but will still make the “ideal” opponent for Oct. 4 in “Sin City.”
“This is one of the fights that I wanted to have,” Prochazka added. “When I met him in Vegas, he looked like the ideal opponent, because he’s a normal guy. Technical, strategic, very dynamic. So this is the opponent who I like to face. I wanted to fight Ankalaev because there was a lot of trash talking after my [last] fight and from his side there was a lot of not good words — but doesn’t matter. It’s about getting to the title; sure, but right now I’m really looking to show the best performance. And this is for me, the number one in this game is to show the best performances and I believe with Khalil, we can make a great fight.”
Prochazka (31-5-1) is coming off a technical knockout win over former champion Jamahal Hill at UFC 311 back in January. Similarly, Rountree Jr. (14-6, 1 NC) defeated “Sweet Dreams” at UFC Baku just last month to maintain his place in the official UFC rankings.
For the current UFC 320 fight card and PPV lineup click here.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
