Imago
Credits: IMAGO
Imago
Credits: IMAGO
Jiri Prochazka’s greatest strength has always been his greatest weakness, and at UFC 327, that weakness cost him a title shot. Last night, New Zealander Carlos Ulberg ended the Czech samurai’s dream of becoming a two-time champion when he stopped him at 3:45 of the first round. However, after the loss, Prochazka claimed that he showed “mercy” toward Ulberg, pointing out that Ulberg had injured his knee during the fight.
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Still, MMA legend Demetrious Johnson does not agree with Jiri Prochazka’s explanation. In his latest video, Johnson criticized the ‘BJP’s habit of keeping his hands down, which ultimately led to him getting knocked out by Carlos Ulberg.
“This is a lesson that I always say to those athletes out there who keep their hands down when they fight, uh, Bobby Green, uh, Jiri Prochazka. When you have your hands down, and a guy goes, ‘What, you can’t block everything,’ and that’s the shot that caught Jiri Prochazka at the very edge of the chin and dropped him.
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“Now we have a new light heavyweight champion, we call him Ulberg. I think he’s never going to break that habit of keeping his hands down and fighting that way. I feel absolutely gutted for him. You know, he had that, you know, he wanted to show some mercy.”
Indeed, that issue continues to define Jiri Prochazka, despite his sound record in the sport. Throughout his career, he competed in 39 professional bouts and suffered 6 losses. Notably, 3 of those defeats came in the UFC via knockout, including 2 losses against Alex Pereira. Last night, once again, his tendency to drop his hands exposed him to clean strikes, a flaw experts repeatedly warn him about.
Demetrious Johnson believes Jiří Procházka’s habit of keeping his hands down won’t change even after being knocked out by Carlos Ulberg 👀
“This is a lesson that I always say, that athletes out there who keep their hands down when they fight – if your hands are down, you can’t… pic.twitter.com/0ta1zQ1g9J
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 12, 2026
However, in the past, Jiri Prochazka made it clear that keeping his hands down helps him read his opponents from a “natural position,” and he believed that resting without a traditional guard allowed him to operate at a “next level” under pressure.
At UFC 327, Carlos Ulberg, in fact, capitalized on that same weakness again despite dealing with injury and still managed to stop Prochazka. After the fight, the Czech native also called for a rematch against Ulberg, claiming he does not fight aggressively because he showed “mercy.” However, Demetrious Johnson is not the only one who rejected Prochazka’s explanation, as UFC veteran Chael Sonnen also sees it as an excuse for the loss.
“I didn’t see that Jiri thought that he won, and then was showing a kindness,” said Sonnen,” I thought that Jiri was doing his job… It was a fair contest. Ulberg’s the winner.”
Now that the event is in the books, Jiri Prochazka’s statement has, in fact, already generated controversy. At the same time, the former champ’s rival, Ulberg, stepped in and delivered a harsh reaction.
Carlos Ulberg reminded Jiří Procházka of his “mistake”
Jiri Prochazka first made his “mercy” claim inside the Octagon after his UFC 327 loss and later repeated it in a video clip. He described it as one of his “biggest lessons,” saying he learned it by showing mercy to his opponent. With this latest defeat, the 33-year-old now sits at 2-1 in his last UFC fights. However, after hearing the ‘BJP’s comments, Carlos Ulberg, in fact, made his stance clear and said he does not need Prochazka’s mercy.
At the post-fight press conference, Ulberg also called Jiri Prochazka’s approach a “mistake.”
“I feel like he made a mistake there,” said the 35-year-old at the post-fight press conference, “because I would not have done the same. If you’re in there to get that title, you’d do whatever it takes to get that win.”
Indeed, Ulberg, in fact, does not credit anyone else for his win. At the same time, it remains difficult to determine whether Jiri Prochazka truly showed mercy, especially since he still targeted Ulberg’s injured knee with kicks during the fight. Even the ‘BJP’s rival Magomed Ankalaev, meanwhile, reacted on X and called Prochazka’s “mercy” claim “fake.”
What’s your take on Jiri Prochazka’s claims? Drop your take below.
Written by
Edited by
Deepali Verma