Jiri Prochazka pushed back after Carlos Ulberg called him a “pretender” following their UFC 327 title fight.
Ulberg knocked out Prochazka in the first round at UFC 327 on April 11, 2026 in Miami. The win moved Ulberg to 14-1 and made him the UFC light heavyweight champion, while Prochazka fell to 32-6-1.
Ariel Helwani opened the exchange by laying out Ulberg’s criticism.
“Carlos in my interactions with him is a pretty sort of like even keel guy. He doesn’t get too high, too low. But when I spoke to him on the Monday after the fight, after he won, he had some criticism of you, which I think you may have seen because you alluded to it maybe in your video, of some of the things that he was saying about you, that he didn’t believe that you were showing him mercy and he called you a pretender and things like that. Did you see these things, and did it bother you, the things that he was saying after the fight?”
Prochazka asked Helwani to clarify the point.
“What you especially mean? I want to react for directly for these things.”
Helwani then repeated the “pretender” claim and added that Ulberg had said he felt fear from Prochazka during their faceoff.
“He said, he called you a pretender. He was saying that you’re not the tough martial artist that you sort of exude, that we believe you are, and that when he was facing off with you, he felt this sort of fear from you, that you were fearing him. Did you see that and if so, what do you make of that statement?”
Prochazka answered with the line that immediately jumped off the clip.
“You know, I don’t want to hear this bullshit from a stripper. Yeah. This is it. This is it. I don’t want to, like, in a humble to react for these things.”
Here is the shorter clip shared by Championship Rounds:
https://x.com/ChampRDS/status/2048823448709767633
Prochazka Says He Accepts The Loss But Rejects Ulberg’s Read
Prochazka said fighters occupy a rare place because of what they do inside the cage.
“I believe that in the cage, we are, like the fighters, we are one of the most rare people in the world.”
He also rejected the idea that his post-fight words were prepared for the crowd.
“Do anybody think, if somebody think that I prepared my words after the fight to tell the crowd like I am, I saw the mercy, I was so merciful, man. First of all, I didn’t say that because Joe Rogan told me it was a mercy.”
Prochazka said the moment came from seeing Ulberg hurt and failing to adjust to the fight becoming easier than he expected.
“I think, like, it was not about the mercy, but I just saw him. He was hurt. And then I just, I didn’t accept the scenario of the fight. It can be easy fight because, you know, only thing I know, it’s hard work, hard work. Keep the working, beat the opponent through the hard work. And right now, this time, it showed me it can be really easy, and I was like, I was not prepared for this scenario.”
He credited Ulberg for the result.
“Congrats. He’s the champion. Really, he catched me. I accept that.”
Prochazka then addressed Ulberg’s suggestion that he was playing a role.
“All these things was what he said, like about why I played something. Maybe I’m too old to play something, whatever. I want to be rare. I want to be real. And that was just, that was bullshit. That was bullshit what he said.”
He closed by saying he accepts the defeat and wants to return to work.
“I don’t want to say any more things and some excuses. I don’t care. I lost, I accept. And let’s go. Let’s go back. I really right now looking forward to be back in the work. Really understand what I need to change in the inside of myself, inside the team, inside all my preparation. Just hard work. Be precise, faster, stronger, and smarter in the fight.”
Here is the full clip shared by Helwani:
Jiří Procházka fires back after Carlos Ulberg called him a “pretender” following UFC 327:
"I don't want to hear this bullshit from a stripper… I want to be rare. I want to be real. That was bullshit.
I don't wanna say any more things or excuses. I don't care. I lost, I… pic.twitter.com/N6EX2Z9Gil
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 27, 2026
Prochazka Says Fatherhood Has Changed His Focus
Prochazka also spoke about how the birth of his daughter has changed his mindset after the loss.
“You know, in the end, of everything, in the end, and death of ego, and death of all your imagination, and all your, your mind, there is a breath. There is one deep breath in, breath out.”
“And it’s just time to think, move positively, one move, second move, understand what’s really necessary right now.”
“And I really don’t have time to stay and be sad, or think depressively, or whatever. No, there is a new life who needs me, and I want to give right now all my energy, everything, to make my girls happy, to keep them safe, and to be just as strong as men have to be.”
Here is the clip:
"It’s time to think and move positively. I really don’t have time to be sad or think depressively. There is a new life that needs me, and right now I want to give all my energy to making my girls happy and keep them safe."
Jiří Procházka opens up on how the birth of his daughter… pic.twitter.com/84T7QATBkG
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 27, 2026
Prochazka is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and the first Czech fighter to win a UFC title. He also held the inaugural Rizin Fighting Federation light heavyweight title and the inaugural Gladiator Fighting Championship light heavyweight title before his UFC run.
Ulberg is a New Zealand light heavyweight and former kickboxer out of City Kickboxing. His win over Prochazka followed victories over Dominick Reyes, Jan Blachowicz, Volkan Oezdemir, and Alonzo Menifield. Ulberg later underwent surgery after tearing his ACL in the UFC 327 win.
The rematch debate has not gone away, either. Prochazka has already called himself “stupid” after the loss and pushed for another shot at Ulberg.
