Jiri Prochazka enjoyed seeing Alex Pereira win, and he really enjoyed seeing Magomed Ankalaev lose at UFC 320.
Two key light heavyweight fights took place Saturday in Las Vegas, with Pereira regaining his UFC title with a fast knockout of Ankalaev in the main event, and Prochazka scoring a comeback KO of Khalil Rountree earlier in the evening. After his fight, Prochazka took a seat in the crowd and appeared to become emotional when Pereira put Ankalaev away in just 80 seconds.
Pereira and Prochazka have shared the cage twice with gold on the line, with Pereira coming out on top both times. At the evening’s post-fight press conference, Prochazka was asked about why he had such an emotional reaction seeing his longtime rival winning.
“You know, win, lose, win, lose, whoever, but Alex and his team, Glover Teixeira there, and all of these guys, we have good relationship with them,” Prochazka said. “I really wished him to win because all this bullshit what Ankalaev brought before and all these nonsenses, what he talked about himself, about others. So that was why I was happy because I saw really angry Alex going forward to Ankalaev and that was something what I needed to be in my fight, too.”
Prochazka didn’t specify exactly what his issue with Ankalaev is, but it could have something to do with Ankalaev’s social media presence, which frequently sees him calling out and insulting his fellow light heavyweights on Twitter (Pereira has also accused Ankalaev of having his tweets written for him by his manager Ali Abdelaziz, a theory Ankalaev has refuted).
Making Prochazka’s main event reaction even stranger is that Pereira winning likely prevents him from fighting for the title next as Pereira is already 2-0 in their series. Still, Prochazka is optimistic about his title fight chances.
“Yes, I believe I’m in position to get the belt,” Prochazka said. “It doesn’t matter how. I will find a way.”
“I would take all these two fights, what I learned from, and I will not repeat my mistakes,” he added when asked what he will change for a Pereira trilogy bout. “I will be just better. I will find a way.”
Top light heavyweight contender Carlos Ulberg was also in attendance at T-Mobile Arena, having previously offered to serve as a backup for Saturday’s main event. Ulberg is currently on a nine-fight win streak, capped off by a thudding knockout of Dominick Reyes at UFC Perth last weekend, and he appears to be at the front of the contender line.
It’s unclear whether Ulberg fights Pereira, or possibly slots in as one half of a vacant title bout should Pereira move up to heavyweight to chase a third title. If it turns out Prochazka—who won the 205-pound championship at UFC 275 in 2022—is called upon to stand across from Ulberg, he is ready.
“I just want to fight for the title,” Prochazka said. “No matter who.”
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