UFC 327’s main event will see two of the very best light heavyweights in the world go head-to-head for the right to be crowned the undisputed champion of the division.
Jiri Prochazka steps into the bout as the slight favorite against Carlos Ulberg, and he’ll be looking to make himself a two-time undisputed champion, having previously won the belt when he defeated Glover Teixeira in an all-time classic.
But while the Czech fighter has lost twice in the UFC before against Alex Pereira, it’s often forgotten that he never actually lost the title. Instead, he was forced to vacate when he suffered a serious shoulder injury, described by Dana White as one of the worst he’d ever seen.
Prochazka’s Legacy is More Than The Belt
Prochazka has had three undisputed title fights in his UFC career, with a 1-2 record ahead of UFC 327. But in non-title fights, he is flawless.
‘BJP’ is 5-0 with five knockout wins, having flatlined all of Volkan Oezdemir, Dominick Reyes, Aleksandar Rakic, Jamahal Hill, and, most recently, Khalil Rountree Jr. His resumé stands out as one of the greatest in the division’s history, despite how short his UFC career has been.
So, with a win over Ulberg to add to that list of names, does he have a genuine claim at being the division’s best since the era of Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier? I say yes, even despite his two defeats to ‘Poatan’. Here’s why:
Defeats are not the be-all and end-all of a fighter’s legacy. Anderson Silva is considered by many to be the greatest of all-time, and the end of his career was littered with losses. Stipe Miocic is the greatest heavyweight ever, despite having a host of losses on his CV.
When discussing the best of this generation, most people would go with Pereira. He had a dominant spell which saw him claim the belt on two separate occasions and go on a run of five straight wins in the division. But Pereira’s title run might not have happened if the UFC judges had been sensible in his fight with Jan Blachowicz.
We then saw that the next time he took on someone with any sort of grappling pedigree, he was dominated for five rounds by Magomed Ankalaev. He eventually got the win back, but we would be remiss if we didn’t mention that Ankalaev was severely compromised heading into the rematch – regardless of how good Pereira’s performance was.
Prochazka Takes on All Comers
Prochazka’s fights have largely come against strikers, but not exclusively. His title win against Teixeira, where he won by submission in the fifth round, proved that he is elite wherever the fight may go, while his knockout power has never been in question.
He takes on all comers, has the most entertaining fights in the company, and wins. Styles make fights, and the Pereira rivalry will always hurt his claim to being the best of his generation. But to me, that shouldn’t be the deciding factor.
The fights between them ended in knockout wins for the Brazilian, but it’s easy to forget how successful Prochazka had been in those fights up to that point. He is also notorious for his spirituality, and his claims of black magic after the fight suggest he was beaten mentally before he ever stepped into the octagon.
A win over Ulberg would cement Prochazka’s dominance at 205, and it would be something that we haven’t seen against all types of opponents since the runs of Jones and Cormier over a decade ago.
Agree, or disagree with Daniel? Leave a comment below.
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