Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka will return to the Octagon for a showdown with one of Alex Pereira’s former foes.
Since knocking out Jamahal Hill at UFC 311 in January, Jiri Prochazka has stayed relatively quiet away from the Octagon. Prochazka is working on earning his college degree as he simultaneously plots a return to the Octagon later this year.
Prochazka will have to put a pause to his studying as he’s set to face one of the most dangerous light heavyweight contenders on one of the biggest cards of the year.
Jiri Prochazka vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. added to UFC 320 with title shot on the line
UFC CEO Dana White announced that Prochazka will face Khalil Rountree Jr. on the UFC 320 main card on October 4th in Las Vegas. White made the announcement, as well as Tom Aspinall’s scheduled return, during a recent Instagram live stream.
Prochazka returns to the Octagon for the first time since finishing Hill at UFC 311 earlier this year, following two losses in his previous three fights to Alex Pereira. Meanwhile, Pereira will headline UFC 320 in an immediate rematch against UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev.
Prochazka is hoping to earn another light heavyweight title shot after his past title reign came to an abrupt end due to injury. After a one-year absence from fighting to recover from shoulder surgery, Prochazka lost to Pereira for the then-vacant belt at UFC 295.
In between Pereira fights, Prochazka defeated Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300 to return to the light heavyweight title mix. He earned the UFC light heavyweight championship with a come-from-behind win over Glover Teixeira at UFC 275.
Meanwhile, Rountree will look to begin another winning streak after outpointing Hill by unanimous decision at UFC Baku last month. Rountree lost to Pereira in his first-career UFC title shot at UFC 307 last October.
Rountree is regarded as one of the UFC’s most dangerous knockout artists with finishes over Anthony Smith, Karl Roberson and Chris Daukaus. The Prochazka vs. Rountree winner will likely earn a title shot against the victor of the Ankalaev vs. Pereira rematch.
Merab Dvalishvili returns in UFC 320 co-main event against dangerous contender
In addition to the other UFC 320 announcements, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili returns against surging contender Cory Sandhagen in the card’s co-main event. Dvalishvili returns to the cage after submitting Sean O’Malley in their UFC 316 rematch last month.
Dvalishvili defeated Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 earlier this year after outpointing O’Malley for the belt at UFC 306. The bantamweight titleholder enters UFC 320 on a 13-fight win streak, including victories over Marlon Moraes, Henry Cejudo, and Petr Yan.
Sandhagen earned the bantamweight title shot following a dominant win over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines earlier this year. This will be the second time that Sandhagen has fought for a UFC belt after falling to Yan in an interim title bout at UFC 267.
The full UFC 320 card is expected to be finalized in the next few weeks.
