Former champs Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal Hill aim to escape title purgatory at UFC 311

Before a double dose of championship action ends the night on Saturday, the UFC 311 main card will see two of the sport’s top light heavyweights throw down, hoping to escape a certain title no-man’s land they both occupy.

Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill have plenty in common, and their paths will finally cross this weekend at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., at the UFC’s first pay-per-view event of the year.

Both are former titleholders in the 205-pound division; both won the title by defeating Glover Teixeira within a seven-month span — Prochazka in mid 2022 and Hill in early 2023 — and both were forced to vacate the belt before attempting to defend it due to each sustaining a long-term injury that required surgery.

Prochazka’s shoulder injury opened the door for Hill to compete for a vacant title, which he won, then later vacated when he ruptured one of his Achilles tendons.

Another key distinction they share is both were unceremoniously welcomed back to action by Teixeira’s disciple, reigning champ Alex Pereira, following those respective injuries.

Pereira has since become a superstar in mixed martial arts and risen to the No. 3 spot in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, while both Prochazka and Hill have been overshadowed by the accomplishments of “Poatan” and forced back to the drawing board.

Prochazka was stopped via technical knockout by Pereira at UFC 295 in a championship clash.

Pereira’s first title defence came five months later against Hill at UFC 300 last April in what was Hill’s first appearance since his injury. Pereira knocked Hill out three minutes into the first round of their headline bout with a highlight-reel left hook.

After the loss, Hill said he “dared to be great against adversity and against a great challenge and came up short at the highest level in the world,” before calling out fellow former champ Prochazka.

A matchup with Prochazka didn’t materialize as quickly as Hill had anticipated because the UFC decided to give Prochazka, who bounced back with win over Alexsandar Rakic at UFC 300, a second crack at Pereira.

UFC 303 in June was headlined by Pereira knocking out Prochazka again, this time using a head kick to end the rematch with an exclamation mark.

Prochazka is 32 yet finds himself at a fork in the road with two recent and definitive losses to the active champion within an eight-month span.

“I need to evolve to the next level or don’t fight again,” Prochazka said last year, after UFC 303. “So simple. To be the strongest, this is the way. Thank you. See you in the gym.”

Prochazka has lost two of his last three fights, both to Pereira, but before that he had won 13 in a row, dating back to before he signed with the UFC.

Even though a third fight with Pereira is unlikely — he inexplicably did not change his game plan and still did not account for Pereira’s low leg kicks in their rematch — Prochazka still hopes to become champion again and one day get redemption against Pereira.

A loss to Hill, however, would keep him in championship purgatory for the foreseeable future, even though he enters the weekend the No. 2-ranked contender in the division.

In the other corner, No. 3-ranked Hill has spent months trying to get under Pereira’s skin, even confronting his former opponent at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas in December.

Perhaps provoking the champion into wanting a grudge match sequel and convincing UFC brass to overlook their one-sided first fight is part of Hill’s plan.

None of those antics will matter if he doesn’t get his hand raised at UFC 311.

Picking up a highlight win over Prochazka would be an undeniable step in the right direction for Hill, 33, whose most recent stoppage win was nearly 2.5 years ago.

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