Jiri Prochazka Calls Out Surging Contender and Former Champion After UFC 327 Disaster

Despite his loss at UFC 327, Jiri Prochazka is already making plans for his return to the UFC with a couple of opponents in mind as well.

Jiri Prochazka Calls Out Surging Contender and Former Champion After UFC 327 Disaster

Jiri Prochazka (via MMA Mania)

In Short
  • Jiri Prochazka lost to Carlos Ulberg at UFC 327 despite Ulberg's knee injury during the fight.
  • Prochazka is targeting a return to the octagon in October, with Paulo Costa and Magomed Ankalaev as potential opponents.
  • Magomed Ankalaev responded harshly to Prochazka's callout, labeling him a pretender after his recent knockout loss.

Jiri Prochazka‘s UFC run has been chaotically unmissable so far. In just 5 years and 9 UFC fights, Prochazka has fought for the title 4 times, with all of those fights ending in a finish. But UFC 327 did not go Prochazka’s way at all.

The Czech light heavyweight lost to Carlos Ulberg despite the latter suffering a devastating knee injury mid-fight. It was a tough pill to swallow for the former champion as it was his third knockout loss in as many title fights. Prochazka said mercy cost him the fight, claiming he took it easy on Ulberg. However, the champion pushed back against this narrative, calling Prochazka a pretender.

But now, Prochazka wants to put all that behind him for the time being as he eyes a return. He wants to come back to the octagon in the fall and even has two opponents in mind. The former champion shared this update with Ariel Helwani on the Ariel Helwani Show.

I want to be back, I think around, right now I have the time with my girls, so it will be like two months…Right now, I believe somewhere around October. Right now, [Paulo] Costa or [Magomed[ Ankalaev [make sense as my next fights].

Jiri Prochazka talks about his return to the octagon on the Ariel Helwani Show

Paulo Costa looked great recently in his first win in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. He decimated the no. 7-ranked Azamat Murzakanov with a 3rd-round KO, bursting into the light heavyweight rankings at no. 7. However, Costa has also been calling for other fights in the UFC, like another divisional jump to pursue a fight with heavyweight Josh Hokit.

On the other hand, Magomed Ankalaev has previously discussed the prospect of fighting Prochazka. They are both former champions sitting on a knockout loss in their last title fights. So, a fight with Ankalaev could be on the cards eventually.

With Ankalaev nursing an apparent rib injury after his unsuccessful title defense at UFC 320, the timelines for their returns could align. But the Dagestani former champion had a fiery response to Prochazka after his callout.

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Magomed Ankalaev responds to Jiri Prochazka’s callout with a harsh tweet

The feud between Jiri Prochazka and Magomed Ankalaev has been simmering for quite a while now. After the Czech fighter’s loss to Ulberg, Ankalaev called for him to be removed from the title picture because of Prochazka being knocked out thrice in his last six title fights.

Magomed Ankalaev, Jiri Prochazka
Magomed Ankalaev has a harsh response to Jiri Prochazka calling him out [via Reddit and MMA Fighting]

But following Prochazka’s callout on the Ariel Helwani Show, Ankalaev took to X to respond to the former champion. The Dagestani did not hold back, agreeing with Ulberg in calling Prochazka a pretender, among other things.

Jiri Prochazka got knocked out by a man with one leg and now he calls me out after finding out I already have an opponent. Carlos Ulberg is right this guy is a pretender, he never wanted to really fight me and he’s the number one easy fight in LHW division.

Magomed Ankalaev on X

Many fans called out Ankalaev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, in the comments section of the post. They accused him of being Ankalaev’s mouthpiece on X. However, Abdelaziz running his fighters’ social media account has become something of a running gag in MMA circles.

Nonetheless, it being sent out from the former champion’s account means Prochazka will likely see it as Ankalaev’s words. So, this feud is clearly getting more heated as a fight between the two gains more traction. That being said, October is a long time away, and a lot can change in the UFC’s most turbulent division by then.

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