Jiri Prochazka and Aleksandar Rakic haggle over date for potential matchup; Jan Blachowicz responds

Jiri Prochazka and Aleksandar Rakic want to fight each other. Now they just need to settle on a date.

Earlier this week, Rakic revealed the disappointing news that he will not be fighting Jan Blachowicz at UFC 297 in January due to Blachowicz suffering an injury in training. The bout was to be a rematch of their May 2022 encounter that Blachowicz won when Rakic suffered a leg injury in the third round.

Following that disappointment, Rakic was quick to pivot to a matchup with another former light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka, who recently failed to claim a vacant title when he was defeated by Alex Pereira at UFC 295. Prochazka responded positively to the matchup on social media, but said he would be unavailable for the Jan. 20 pay-per-view.

Rakic proposed a Feb. 17 date, tagging UFC CEO Dana White and matchmaker Mick Maynard, then grew impatient and issued a follow-up tweet on Friday in which he questioned Prochazka’s “samurai code.”

Prochazka again responded with interest in the matchup, though this time he provided a more specific date: March 9 at UFC 299, which is rumored to take place in Miami.

When Rakic returns, it will be his first fight since injuring his leg against Blachowicz more than 19 months ago. The Austrian entered that contest with six wins in his first seven UFC appearances.

Prochazka looks to bounce back from the first loss of his UFC career and his first loss since December 2015.

Meanwhile, Blachowicz hasn’t exactly been taking the situation lying down. He responded to Rakic’s initial tweet with his own insults.

“First he cries after I broke him, then he cries when I need to take care of my injury,” Blachowicz wrote on social media. “Be happy that I will not break you this time, again. You can now go and continue to cry.”