Jiri Prochazka Says His Next Fight Isn't Booked — Yet

Jiri Prochazka wants you to slow down. On Sunday the former UFC light heavyweight champion took to Instagram to knock down growing chatter that his next fight is locked in, telling fans not to swallow every rumor bouncing around the internet. His actual position is simpler than the speculation: nothing's signed, and he's still working on it.

The context matters. Prochazka was last seen at UFC 327 in April, where he was seemingly cruising toward a vacant title after Carlos Ulberg suffered a knee injury mid-fight — only for Ulberg to land a fight-ending punch and steal the belt. It was a brutal reversal, and it left the division in a strange holding pattern. Ulberg has since torn his ACL and hasn't fought again, which means Prochazka, the more active man, is likely to return long before the new champ.

The Costa Rumor

So what's the 'bullsh*t' Prochazka is referring to? He didn't name it, but the loudest rumor online pairs him with Paulo Costa. The former middleweight contender made a splash at UFC 327 by moving up to 205 and knocking out Azamat Murzakanov (16-1) — becoming the first man to beat 'The Professional,' whose only other loss now stands on the record. On paper, a Prochazka-Costa scrap is a firework display waiting to happen. It's just not real yet.

Prochazka framed the delay as a matter of preparation, saying he wants his camp to be genuinely thorough, to break everything down and return to the fundamentals that shaped him. He added that he still sees levels he can reach and feels grateful to see them clearly. Translation: he'll fight when the camp is right, not when Twitter demands it.

Where He Could Land

The calendar gives us a decent guess. There are five numbered events left in 2026. September's UFC 331 is already stacked, so that's out. UFC 334 (New York, Nov. 14) and UFC 335 (Las Vegas, Dec. 12) are locked to venues but distant. The obvious window is UFC 332 in Salt Lake City on Oct. 3 — it still needs headline material and tickets are already on sale.

For now, though, the only confirmed thing is that nothing's confirmed. Prochazka is happy to keep it that way until he's satisfied his preparation is complete. Expect the announcement to come on his clock, not the algorithm's.