Prochazka Faces Stirling In Qatar Headliner

Former UFC heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka will meet undefeated contender Navajo Stirling in the main event of the promotion's Nov. 21 card in Doha, Qatar, the UFC announced Tuesday.

Prochazka is looking to bounce back from his first-round knockout loss to Carlos Ulberg in April, a title fight where he hurt the champion but still ended up stopped. The Czech fighter has only lost in championship bouts since joining the roster in 2020, dropping decisions to Ulberg and twice to Alex Pereira while staying perfect in non-title outings. Stirling brings a flawless 11-0 record into the bout and has already notched three octagon wins this year, finishing Bruno Lopes, Ion Cutelaba and ex-champion Jan Blachowicz.

Sterling Moves Up, Hooker Returns After Quick KO

Former bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling takes on rising featherweight Kevin Vallejos in a featured 145-pound matchup, as first reported by MMA Fighting. The card also includes a lightweight clash between Dan Hooker and Brian Ortega, with Ortega returning after a cut forced him out of a recent bout against Renato Moicano. Hooker enters on short notice following a first-round knockout defeat to Salahdine Parnasse earlier this month, per MMA Mania.

Flyweights Asu Almabayev and Kyoji Horiguchi meet in what shapes up as a title eliminator at 125 pounds. The promotion has also booked middleweight Jared Cannonier against Ikram Aliskerov, featherweights Aleksandre Topuria and Santiago Luna, plus heavyweight Shamil Gaziev versus Tallison Teixeira. Amir Albazi faces Alessandro Costa at flyweight, while Jake Matthews squares off with Akbar Abdullaev in a welterweight bout.

The winner of the Prochazka-Stirling headliner will position himself as next in line for the returning Ulberg, who is currently recovering from knee surgery. Additional bouts for the ABHA Arena card are expected in the coming days.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — Jiri Prochazka vs. Navajo Stirling, 8 other fights official for UFC Qatar
• MMA Mania — Jiri Prochazka vs. Navajo Stirling tops UFC Qatar, Sterling-Vallejos, Hooker-Ortega join Nov. 21 lineup