UFC Qatar Gets Official: Jiri Prochazka Draws Undefeated Navajo Stirling

The UFC is officially heading to Qatar, and they are throwing former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka into the cage with an undefeated prospect just to see what happens.

MMA Fighting confirmed Tuesday that Prochazka will face Navajo Stirling as part of a massive nine-fight announcement for the upcoming card.

"MMA Fighting reported the official nine-fight announcement for UFC Qatar."

Stirling is riding high with an immaculate record and a fresh finish at UFC Vegas 119. Now he gets the ultimate heat check against Prochazka, a guy whose fighting style looks like a glitching video game character who forgot how to block but maxed out his attack stats.

This is classic UFC matchmaking. You take a beloved former champion and use him as a violent stress test for the new guy. If Stirling survives the tornado, a star is born. If he does not, we get another highlight-reel knockout for the former champ.

The rest of the Qatar card is stacked with high-stakes violence. Arman Tsarukyan is trying to protect his No. 1 lightweight ranking against Dan Hooker. The oddsmakers have Tsarukyan as a massive -500 favorite, leaving Hooker at +375 for anyone feeling chaotic at the betting window.

We also get former welterweight champ Belal Muhammad trying to bounce back against Ian Machado Garry. The UFC is clearly not interested in giving anyone a soft landing in the desert.

We will see how the betting lines settle for the light heavyweight clash as we get closer to fight night. Until then, Stirling has a few weeks to figure out how to prepare for a guy who fights like he was raised by wolves.