Carlos Ulberg says Jiri Prochazka didn’t take mercy on him Saturday at UFC 327, so he’s not going to take mercy on him now, either.
While Ulberg (14-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) was cool, calm, and collected during his post-fight news conference immediately after the event at Kaseya Center in Miami, he presented a much different demeanor Monday after watching the fight back for the first time.
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“Bullsh*t. Bullsh*t. That’s bullsh*t. Total bullsh*t,” Ulberg said on “The Ariel Helwani Show” when asked about Prochazka’s claim that he held back. “That’s fear. That was fear that he had. That wasn’t any kind of mercy. He knows. He’s a fighter. That’s the difference between a champion and someone who is just playing for the crowd. There was no mercy in there. He was full of fear, hesitation, and that’s what got him clipped.”
The phoniness, Ulberg says, extends beyond that one claim made by Prochazka. He said he thinks Prochazka’s whole character is an act.
“I think he’s a pretender,” Ulberg said. “He knows I know he’s a pretender. I think from the very time we faced off, he knew that this is going to be a fight. This is a real one right in front of me. He could feel it. He knew that I knew that he was a pretender. I think when he had that moment where my leg was compromised, he thought, ‘Oh, this could be my opportunity.’ But with the perseverance that I had and pushing through that, I was able to adapt with it. I wasn’t going anywhere. There was, at that very moment, when we locked each other in the eyes, he knew, ‘Damn, this is going to be a fight. He’s not going anywhere,’ I’ve still got my hands. That’s the danger I have is one shot can kill him.”
“… Just watching and seeing how he operates, I know that’s not a real fighter in there. That’s just someone who is trying to play to the crowd and wants people to go along with it. That word ‘merciful’ was fed into his mouth on that night after he said what he had said. He went with it and played with it. That was his excuse so he could hopefully get a rematch. There is no way he gets that rematch. I don’t see him getting past Ankalaev. He gets his ass beat from Ankalaev, and I don’t see him in that title picture.”
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Ulberg won UFC light heavyweight gold in an all-time improbable fashion when he sustained a compromising knee injury, but somehow knocked Prochazka out anyway. He admitted Saturday that the combination of achieving a dream while also sustaining a brutal injury created a mix of emotions. But it seems Prochazka’s claims and the creation of a “mercy” narrative have really left a sour taste in Ulberg’s mouth.
“I think this whole narrative was kind of fed into him,” Ulberg said. “But also, as I was going through the media and people were going with it, I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ There was no mercy. I didn’t get time to rewatch the fight and figure out where that was. Because I had to see, ‘Ah, OK. Maybe I’m missing something. I was so worried about my leg that I didn’t see that.’ But I had to watch it again. But I was like, ‘No, I wasn’t missing anything.’ Since then, it’s just been that I don’t like he’s trying to use this narrative to make an excuse for himself. … I don’t like someone who is just going to make excuses to get another shot like that. No way. Not with me.”
Ulberg plans to head to Miami and undergo testing to see what the exact damage is to his knee. At that point, he’ll have a better understanding of what recovery timeline he is looking at, and when his next fight will be. As for who he thinks is at this very moment the next man up to fight for the title, Ulberg isn’t sure. But there’s one fighter he says should not be next.
“Definitely not a rematch with Jiri,” Ulberg said. “… I think he’s had his chances already. He’s had a fair few goes. I’m not normally this hard on guys. But hey, if you’re out there talking smack, you can’t make excuses out there. He didn’t even come and congratulate me after the fight. Normally, I really show love to anyone I fight. They know, too. The ones that know, know. But with him, it was a bit different because I just feel he’s just more trying to play to the crowd. … The storyline could have been so much better… Now that’s been kind of clouded because of the whole ‘mercy’ narrative.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Carlos Ulberg calls ‘bullsh*t’ on ‘pretender’ Jiri Prochazka’s mercy
