‘Alexander the Great’ thinks Jiri Prochazka has work to do if he is to earn another title opportunity.
The former light heavyweight champion fell short in his third shot at becoming a two-time king in the division at UFC 327 last Saturday.
Prochazka was knocked out by Carlos Ulberg in round one of the main event in Miami, a shocking finish that came while the Kiwi battled a seemingly serious knee injury.
The Czech star believes he knows what caused the loss and how to rectify it, but Alexander Volkanovski disagrees with his push for an immediate rematch.
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Alexander Volkanovski dismisses Jiri Prochazka’s push for a Carlos Ulberg rematch
Prochazka claims he showed Ulberg “mercy” in their fight after realizing his fellow title challenger was hurt. Many have rejected that suggestion by pointing out that he continued to throw leg kicks after the fact.
That hasn’t stopped ‘BJP’ from pushing the narrative and using it to request a shot at redemption for Ulberg’s first title defense.
Volkanovski, who has trained with the new champion over at City Kickboxing in New Zealand, gave Prochazka a reality check when it came to that desire.
“That’s not gonna happen,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I like Jiri, I’m not having any shots at Jiri. But it doesn’t work like that.
“Even though (Ulberg’s) leg was busted, it looked like it was always going to be a tough fight for Jiri.
“I don’t know how you can convince the UFC that, ‘Gimme a rematch because of these circumstances.’ They’re gonna be like, ‘Wait, he tore his ACL and still managed to knock you out?’
“I don’t know how they’re going to go about that,” he added.
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Prochazka has now lost three title fights since he vacated the light heavyweight throne due to a shoulder injury in late 2022.
Since beating Glover Teixeira to become champion, Prochazka has been knocked out by Pereira twice and now by Ulberg.