Jiri Prochazka is done talking about what happened at UFC 327. The former light heavyweight champion has accepted the loss, recognized his mistakes, and looks to be focused on what comes next. But, before flipping the page, he had one last message for the guy who had stopped him from claiming the belt yet again—new champion Carlos Ulberg.

And it was not exactly respectful as you usually expect from ‘Denisa.’ In response to Ulberg calling him a “pretender” after claims of the ‘The Czech Samurai’ showing him “mercy” during their title fight, Jiri Prochazka shot back during an appearance on Ariel Helwani‘s show, dismissing the champion’s comments entirely.

“I don’t want to hear this bulls— from a stripper,” he said. “I believe that in the cage, we…the fighters…we are one of the most rare people in the world.”

That is where ‘Denisa’ wanted to set the record straight. He made it clear that he never said mercy cost him the fight. According to him, Joe Rogan did the framing during their post-fight conversation. What actually happened, in Jiri Prochazka’s eyes, was much simpler.

“I didn’t say that, because Joe Rogan told me it was a mercy, and I think it was not about the mercy,” he continued. “But I just saw him; he was hurt, and then I didn’t accept the scenario of the fight, that it can be easy fight, because, you know, only thing I know is hard work.

“Hard work, keep working, beat the opponents through the hard work, and right now, this time, it showed me it can be really easy, and I was, like, I was not prepared for this scenario.”

That honesty is classic Jiri. He accepted that ‘Black Jag’ had caught him, acknowledged him as champion, and refused to make excuses. However, he clearly did not enjoy what came next—the trash talk, the labels, and the implication that he was putting on an act.

For Jiri Prochazka, authenticity is more important than image, which is why Carlos Ulberg’s comments seem to have struck a nerve. But instead of continuing the back and forth, now he wants to take action.

After recovering and spending time with family, ‘Denisa’ has already planned his return, as he dropped two exciting names for his future matchup.

“Right now, I believe somewhere around October,” he added. “Right now, Paulo Costa or Magomed Ankalaev (makes sense).”

Paulo Costa and Magomed Ankalaev are both serious challenges, but they also provide exactly what Jiri Prochazka appears to want: a hard road back with no shortcuts and the opportunity to prove he still belongs among the division’s elites.

But while he wants a fight with Ankalaev, the former UFC light heavyweight champion echoed Carlos Ulberg’s ‘pretender’ claim of Jiri Prochazka to shut down any plans ‘Denisa’ had of them going one-on-one anytime soon.

Magomed Ankalaev issues a cold response to Jiri Prochazka’s callout

That plan to fight Magomed Ankalaev may have already failed. Not because Ankalaev is unavailable, but because he seems to have little interest in considering Jiri Prochazka as a real threat. If anything, he used Prochazkas’s recent failure as justification to discard him entirely.

“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,” Ankalaev wrote on X. “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 the light heavyweight division.”

That is what makes it intriguing. ‘Denisa’ wants a tough road back, and Magomed Ankalaev definitely does not respect him at this moment. In combat, such a combination has the potential to create something explosive.

Whether the UFC books it now or later, the tension is very real—and for a fighter looking to prove he still belongs at the top, there may be no better answer for Jiri Prochazka than silencing Ankalaev the hard way.