Jiri Prochazka admits he dropped to 40 percent after Ulberg injury

Jiri Prochazka now admits he lost focus and stopped fighting at full capacity the moment Carlos Ulberg injured his knee at UFC 327, though he’s backing off his original claim that he showed mercy.

The former light heavyweight champion posted to Instagram this week that he dropped to roughly half his output after Ulberg appeared to suffer a serious leg injury in their April 11 title fight in Miami. “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,” Prochazka said, per MMA Fighting.

Prochazka calls lapse his biggest mistake

Ulberg capitalized on that mental lapse to land the knockout hook that ended the fight in the first round, claiming the vacant 205-pound belt. According to Sherdog, Ulberg has since undergone surgery for a torn ACL and faces an extended recovery. Prochazka called the loss of focus “maybe one of the biggest” mistakes of his career but refused to dwell on it. He also dismissed criticism from Paulo Costa and Magomed Ankalaev, blowing them a kiss on camera.

Prochazka became a father shortly after the fight and said he’ll wait about a month before starting negotiations with the UFC. His primary focus now is his newborn daughter. Still, he believes he’ll compete for the light heavyweight title again before Ulberg is cleared to defend. “I believe that before Carlos returns to the fight, I will fight for the title,” he said.

Photo by Oleksandr Brovko on Unsplash

Original reporting:

• mmafighting.com — Jiri Prochazka says he was ‘at maybe 40, 50 percent of my performance’ after Carlos Ulberg suffered his injury | MMA Fighting
• sherdog.com — Jiri Prochazka says he was ‘just sparring’ after Carlos Ulberg injury at UFC 327