Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg battled for the UFC light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 327 this past weekend in Miami, and the man that vacated the belt weighed in on Prochazka’s doomed gameplan.
Ulberg suffered a knee injury early in the fight and Prochazka appeared to allow him to stand and trade punches instead of targeting the injured leg. The former champion paid the price, getting caught and knocked out cold by Ulberg before the end of the opening round.
UFC Brasil posted a video
on social media with Pereira’s first comments on the UFC 327 title clash, and “Poatan” admitted he was surprised by Prochazka’s strategy.
“What happened there, everyone saw that Ulberg got injured,” Pereira said. “We don’t know if it was from the kicks or if he was already hurt, but it doesn’t matter. Those are the risks of being in there. He knew that, the responsibility is entirely on the athlete, and that’s part of the game.”
“But during the fight, I was watching and I said, ‘Man, Jiri is going in hard, he looks different,’ and all that,” he continued. That moment when he started calling him out, that samurai warrior kind of thing, I think that hurt him a bit, you know?”
Pereira wouldn’t openly criticize Prochazka, who he has beaten twice in the UFC, but said he would have taken a completely different approach if he was in the octagon against an injured opponent.
“I’ll speak for myself,” Pereira said. “If it were me in there, it’s a fight, you know? Both guys are trained, one wants to hurt the other. Unfortunately, Jiri had some actions that came at a very high cost. I think he learned a lot from it. That’s what I have to say.”
It’s still unclear how long Ulberg will be sidelined, as the severity of his knee injury is still to be determined, and what will be the future of the 205-pound championship belt. Meanwhile, Pereira gears up for his own championship bout at heavyweight, as he battles Cyril Gane for an interim title in the co-main event of UFC White House on June 14.
