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Promoter Novotný recently revealed that a different matchup – Procházka versus Chimaev – was initially planned before Jiří Procházka’s upcoming fight against Alex Ulberg on April 11 at UFC 327 in Miami.
“It all depended on Aspinall. That’s the information I have – waiting for an eye exam, surgery, and a decision on whether he would be able to fight. It was a heavyweight bout, which led to discussions about moving Pereira and vacating the title. That was essentially the whole issue. I think it was almost two months of this. They kept saying we’d know next week, which I passed along, but I felt like a fool. Eventually, I said I’d let everyone know when I had a definitive answer. I didn’t want to mislead anyone. The only thing keeping us going was hope,” Procházka explained to iSport.cz, detailing the complex situation.
“I roughly knew who I would be fighting. We were training for Ulberg, even though there was a lot of speculation about Chimaev. Those were just rumors.”
“I’m going to upset a lot of people, including Jirka, but I don’t care. I just don’t lie and say things I haven’t verified. When I said that Khamzat versus Jirka was very close and that it was a done deal, I stand by that. The fact that Jirka doesn’t know… I discussed it with Karaivanov and we talked about things I won’t travel into detail about. From my perspective, nothing has changed. It was a done deal from Chimaev’s side. It’s actually another fight in a row, just delayed by Strickland’s win and so on. It all just shifted. Those reactions… I understand, but it’s the same as when many fighters in OKTAGON don’t know they were close to a big fight,” Novotný maintained in MMA Letem Světem.
The situation appears to be less a mystery and more a matter of Novotný leveraging his industry connections to share inside information, perhaps with a touch of sensationalism, when discussing a previously agreed-upon fight that was only tentatively finalized. Procházka would likely accept the fight if offered, leaving the door open for a potential future matchup.
April 11 – UFC 327
Procházka vs Ulberg
Van vs Taira
Gamrot vs Ribovics
Blaydes vs Hokit
Holland vs Brown
Pitbull vs Pico
Reyes vs Walker
Murzakanov vs Costa
Suarez vs Godinez
Swanson vs Landwehr
Gastelum vs Luque
Alvidrez vs Prado
