Jiri
Prochazka says he lost focus after Carlos Ulberg got injured at UFC
327. | Getty/UFC
Jiri
Prochazka is standing by his claim that Carlos
Ulberg’s injury caused him to let up in the UFC 327
headliner.
Prochazka and Ulberg squared off for the vacant light heavyweight
belt on April 11 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Ulberg appeared to
be in a dire situation after injuring his knee early in the bout,
but “Black Jag” was able to claim 205-pound gold with an improbable
first-round knockout of Prochazka. In the aftermath of the defeat,
Prochazka lamented showing mercy on his opponent when he realized
Ulberg was injured. That stance has caused the Czech standout to
receive some backlash in the MMA community.
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In a recent video post on Instagram, Prochazka only slightly
altered his position, stating that the moment caused him to lose
focus in the fight. As a result, “BJP” believes he was competing at
roughly half of his capabilities against a compromised Ulberg.
“Let’s get this down in black and white so no one comes up with any
bullsh— here,” Prochazka said. “Because what I’m hearing all around
is complete nonsense and I have to laugh at it. So briefly and the
only thing in the fight: I lost my focus there. Focus on the goal.
Focus on the target and that was especially the case when Ulberg
injured his leg. I know what that’s like because exactly this
happened to me once in a fight in Japan. I fought through that
match, but I know what it’s like. The pain, the struggle, so all
credit to him for managing to keep a cool head, for catching me
with that hook.
“But I can say for myself that I know from the moment that happened
to him, I wasn’t at 100% anymore. I was at maybe 40, 50% of my
performance and I was just sparring and waiting for the referee to
stop the fight at any moment. It was a big mistake. Maybe one of
the biggest. I don’t want to beat myself up about it nonstop.
Because the most important thing is to always learn from it and
move forward stronger. So that’s it.”
Focus on Family
After recently becoming a father for the first time, Prochazka is
going to take some time to focus on family before he plans his next
move in the UFC.
“As for the next fight, I’ll start talking about negotiations for
the next fight in about a month,” Prochazka said. “Because right
now it’s time to focus purely and mainly on my family. Even though
I’m filled with a million emotions from the fight and all those
things are really battling inside me, right now I need to hold my
ground at home … and just be the man of the house and enjoy this
new energy that’s come to us through my daughter, our daughter.
“I’m already looking forward to the next opponent, the next round
of training. To strengthen it again, to be a little better, to stay
on the way. Strength and honor.”
Ulberg recently underwent surgery due to the torn ACL he suffered
at UFC 327. As a result, it’s unclear when he might be able to
defend the light heavyweight crown. Prochazka believes he might get
another shot at championship gold before Ulberg is cleared to
compete.
“This match has just lit the fire in me even more,” Prochazka said.
“And I believe that before Carlos returns to the fight, I will
fight for the title.”