Jiri Prochazka says he was 'just sparring' after Carlos Ulberg injury at UFC 327

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.

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.