Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t see a strong case for Jiri Prochazka getting a rematch against Carlos Ulberg after UFC 327.
Prochazka (32-6-1 MMA, 6-3 UFC) regretted showing Ulberg “mercy” in their vacant light heavyweight title fight at UFC 327 in Miami after claiming to pull back once noticing he injured his leg. Prochazka ended up getting knocked out by an Ulberg left hook.
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Prochazka wants to run things back with Ulberg (14-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC), but Volkanovski doesn’t see him getting his wish.
“Nah, that’s not going to happen,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I like Jiri. I’m not having any shots, but it doesn’t work like that. Even though his (Ulberg) leg was busted, it looked like it was always going to be a tough fight for Jiri except for when his leg was busted, and he was still able to get the job done. I don’t know how you can convince the UFC to give you a rematch because of these circumstances. They’re going to be like, ‘Wait, he tore his ACL and still managed to knock you out. It was a lot worse on his end than your end.'”
While Volkanovski thinks Prochazka could have shown a little mercy toward Ulberg after the injury occurred, he also saw him trying to capitalize at certain points.
“He was kicking the leg knowing that the other leg is going to buckle, so it’s tough,” Volkanovski said. “Was he in two minds because of it? Maybe, but I’m going to be honest and say what I saw early in that fight, because I was saying it’s going to be a tough fight for Carlos, the pressure, how is he going to deal with it. I thought Carlos did a great job of like, ‘I’m happy to stand here.’
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“Jiri didn’t really want to pressure, and then you got to see Carlos smash some kicks and sort of work his game. I was like, Carlos is looking good, Jiri looks like he’s going to be in big trouble now. Then his leg went and I was like, ‘Oh, no!’ I thought Carlos was looking great, and Jiri had to be very, very cautious. … I don’t know. I like Jiri, but I don’t think that’s the case. Maybe there was a slight thought there, maybe you were in two minds in a sense, but at the same time, you were still trying to be effective.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC champ dismisses Jiri Prochazka’s call for Carlos Ulberg rematch
