Jiri Prochazka is gearing up for his fourth UFC light heavyweight title fight. While once he won by beating Glover Teixeira, twice he failed against Alex Pereira. But there was a name that beat Pereira to become the LHW champion, unlike Prochazka. Despite that key factor, UFC booked the Czech fighter for the title shot. And now Prochazka has come up to explain why the decision was made.

“I think after his last performance in a fight, he has to prove that he is able to be the best,” said Prochazka in an interview with NY Post Sports. “Not just like that [get the title shot].”

For those unaware, Jiri Prochazka is currently set to compete for the vacant light heavyweight title. The Kaseya Center in Miami, hosting UFC 327, will be the venue on April 11, where Carlos Ulberg will stand across the octagon as his opponent. This is surely an interesting matchup between the no. 2 and no. 3 ranked light heavyweights.

But what about the No. 1-ranked Magomed Ankalaev? Just last year, the Dagestani reigned as the champion of the 205-pound division. Considering that, the matchmaking for the upcoming vacant title fight is indeed quite shocking. However, Prochazka attributed Ankalaev’s snub to the performance he displayed in his last bout.

For those unaware, Alex Pereira was reigning as the UFC light heavyweight champion. But after his decision to move to the heavyweight division, he vacated the 205-pound title, which set up the fight between Prochazka and Ulberg. Having said that, who did Pereira actually beat to become the light heavyweight king? It was none other than Ankalaev.

The setup was an immediate rematch at UFC 320. Prior to that, Ankalaev crowned himself as the 205-pound champion by beating Pereira at UFC 313, which still marks him as the only fighter to do that at LHW. However, with vengeance in his eyes, ‘Poatan’ clashed against the Dagestani at UFC 320.

And interestingly, a mere 1:20 into the bout, the Brazilian finished Ankalaev via TKO. Compared to their last bout, the Dagestani put out a disappointing performance. While Prochazka now has an opportunity to become a two-time UFC light heavyweight champion, Ankalaev might have to wait for his turn.

Given the significance of his upcoming fight, Prochazka appears well-prepared to take on a strong contender like Carlos Ulberg (14-1). As such, the Czech fighter has even attributed much of his mental readiness to the lessons he learned from competing against ‘Poatan.’

Jiri Prochazka reflects on key learnings from Alex Pereira’s fights

Alex Pereira skyrocketed his growth in the UFC. Amid that, Jiri Prochazka got opportunities to face him twice. Both being title bouts, the tension among the fighters was quite high.

However, ‘Poatan’ made quick work of Prochazka on both occasions by defeating him via TKO. While it’s been years since those bouts took place, the Czech fighter has noted down how those defeats have given him the “biggest learnings” of his life.

“I didn’t realize too much in that time because I wasn’t fully mature,” said Prochazka on the UFC 327 Countdown episode. “I was looking at the title like something I can achieve. It was one of the biggest learnings in my life. With all this wisdom from both fights with Pereira, I learned that there are no moments you can take easy.”

This comes just a week ahead of his vacant light heavyweight title fight against Carlos Ulberg. Surely, through this, one can imagine Prochazka’s mindset heading into the bout. However, a fighter like Ulberg also cannot be overlooked.

Standing on a nine-fight winning streak, the Kiwi fighter wouldn’t want to miss out on his first opportunity to win the UFC light heavyweight gold. On that note, who do you think wins between Prochazka and Ulberg at UFC 327 this coming weekend? Let us know in the comments below!