Jiri Prochazka was filled with regret after his loss in the UFC 327 main event.
Following a strong start to the night, the former light heavyweight champion saw that his opponent Carlos Ulberg suffered some kind of knee injury that left him barely able to stand and put any real weight down on his leg. As a result, Prochazka attacked his other leg and kept trying to invite Ulberg to stand and trade with him.
But despite the obvious physical advantage he had with Ulberg effectively operating on one leg,
Prochazka didn’t go for the kill and he paid for it. With Ulberg backing up against the cage, he unleashed a devastating counter left hook that blasted Prochazka and sent him crashing to the canvas in a a heap. A few more punches were landed but the fight was already over as Ulberg claimed the vacant light heavyweight title and Prochazka was understandly dejected after the loss.
“F*ck, it happened,” Prochazka said in his post-fight interview. “I felt like [showing] mercy, in that fight I felt so sorry for him. This is one of the biggest lessons in my life. That fight was won. I had it. It was in my hand and I just let him because I saw his injury and f*ck.
“Yes, that’s right [I showed mercy]. I will be back. Life is about that, learn and be better. Sorry for tonight.”
It definitely appeared that Prochazka recognized that Ulberg was compromised in the fight but he never directly attacked the injury or went for a takedown knowing that it would be incredibly difficult to stop him while operating with only one healthy leg.
The hesitation from Prochazka obviously cost him in the end with Ulberg throwing and landing his powerful left hand to score the knockdown and then eventually the knockout.
Following the conclusion of UFC 327, Prochazka actually went to a local Miami hospital to check his jaw and that’s where he released an additional statement about his performance while also asking for a chance to run it back with Ulberg in the future.
“Just checking the jaw in the hospital,” Prochazka said on Instagram. “Big apologies for my performance tonight. I still can’t understand this. My stupid mercy in the fight and [it] cost me this fight.
“I would like to fight a rematch. Because that was my fight. That was my fight and I just gave him this opportunity to catch me. Big apologies to everyone who support me.”
The loss drops Prochazka to 1-3 in title fights in the UFC after falling to Ulberg following two previous losses to former light heavyweight king Alex Pereira.
As for Ulberg, he admitted after the fight was over that he like blew out his knee, which typically means a torn ACL. That could lead to surgery and a lengthy layoff but for now Ulberg can celebrate his victory after pulling off one of the most improbable knockouts in history to finish Prochazka to become UFC champion.
