Former heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka stood in front of an injured Carlos Ulberg in the UFC 327 main event on April 11 thinking he had the fight in the bag.
Ulberg had suffered a torn ACL and was having difficulty with stability and balance on the leg. When Prochazka realized Ulberg was injured, he claims to have took his foot off the gas in a show of 'mercy.' Moments later, as Prochazka closed the distance, Ulberg connected with a left hook that sent him crashing to the canvas. Ulberg finished with a series of strikes on the ground to capture the vacant title.
In an Instagram post on Monday, the 33 year-old Czech continued to assert that he wasn't fighting at 100 percent, something he deeply regrets.
"Good evening. Let's keep this short and to the point. I just want to comment on the last fight as I promised, and I'll mainly focus on what actually happened out there. Let's get this down in black and white so no one comes up with any bullish*t here because what I'm hearing all around is complete nonsense," ," Prochazka said in the video post.
"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,” Prochazka continued. “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.”
Prochazka's looking forward to his next opponent and challenge. He expects to come back better and make another run at the heavyweight championship.
“I’m already looking forward to the next opponent, the next round of training. To strengthen it again, to be a little better, to stay on the way. Strength and honor," he said.
“This match has just lit the fire in me even more. And I believe that before Carlos returns to the fight, I will fight for the title.”