UFC roundup: Jiri Prochazka teases January matchup with Jamahal Hill

It appears Jiri Prochazka will face another fellow former UFC titleholder in his next outing after teasing an upcoming matchup with Jamahal Hill.

Prochazka confirmed via his social media that he and Hill are set to meet in January at UFC 311 in California.

The pair of former 205-pound champions are both coming off knockout losses to reigning champ Alex Pereira. 

Prochazka was finished by a Pereira head kick at UFC 303 in June less than eight months after he was stopped courtesy of Pereira punches and elbows at UFC 295.

Meanwhile, Hill hasn’t stepped back in the cage since he was put away with Pereira’s patented left hook in the main event of UFC 300 in April. 

Prochazka became a UFC champion in 2022 when he submitted Glover Teixeira, later vacating the belt due to injury. Hill won the title Prochazka vacated early in 2023 when he also defeated Teixeira who ironically was a teammate of Pereira’s and has since become the undisputed champion’s head coach.

UFC 311 is scheduled to take place on Jan. 18 in Inglewood’s new Intuit Dome. The organization has not yet announced a main event. The only bout the UFC has officially announced for the organization’s first trip back to Inglewood since UFC 232 in 2018 is a women's bantamweight bout between Karol Rosa and Ailin Pérez.

DVALISHVILI OPEN TO YAN REMATCH NEXT

Petr Yan’s recent five-round victory over Deiveson Figueiredo proved the former two-time bantamweight titleholder is still a threat to the top of the division. Yan has won two in a row and said after his fight he wishes to avenge the most one-sided loss of his career next.

Yan called for a rematch with Merab Dvalishvili who became the men’s 135-pound champion in September when he defeated Sean O’Malley by unanimous decision over 25 minutes.

The current champion’s first title defence has not yet been determined, however, Dvalishvili posted a video to his social media channels following Yan’s callout that suggested he’s open to facing Yan in the first quarter of 2025.

“Petr, I like your callout and I like your respect,” Dvalishvili said. “Let’s go again after two years.”

Dvalishvili swept the scorecards against Yan in March of 2023 in a five-round Fight Night main event during which the Georgian attempted a staggering 49 takedown attempts, 11 of which were successful, while out-landing Yan 202 to 87 in total strikes. 

The champion, who turns 34 in January, suggested a rematch with Yan, 31, could take place at UFC 313 which is scheduled for March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The UFC has not announced any matchups for that event. The champion has multiple possible opponents for the UFC to consider for his first title defence including rematches with Yan and O’Malley. Umar Nurmagomedov improved to 18-0 after he defeated Cory Sandhagen in a title eliminator in August and would be another logical option.

JONES SAYS HE'S IN NEGOTIATIONS

Jon Jones says there is a magic number the UFC could offer him to accept a heavyweight unification title bout with Tom Aspinall. Although he won’t disclose the monetary figure, the current heavyweight and former longtime light-heavyweight champ says he “more than likely” will be competing in 2025.

“Right now, the UFC and I, we’re in negotiations. We’re in talks to see what happens next,” Jones said in an interview with The Schmo over the weekend. “I’m back in the gym. I’m training. I feel really great. The team’s support, they’re behind me and we’ll just be ready for whatever opportunity comes our way.”

Jones returned from a year-and-a-half layoff and a labrum injury earlier this month with a dominant victory over Stipe Miocic in the main event at UFC 309.

Following his victory at Madison Square Garden, the 37-year-old Jones expressed an interest in facing current light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira while also noting facing Aspinall is not something high up on his list of priorities.

MCGREGOR REMOVED FROM VIDEO GAME

Conor McGregor’s likeness will no longer be used in an upcoming Hitman video game release from IO Interactive after the former UFC champion was found libel by a civil jury in Ireland last week for an alleged 2018 sexual assault.

“In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately,” the developer said in a statement. “We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr. McGregor from our storefronts starting today.”