UFC 327 is just over a month away and it finally has its main event booked: Jiri Prochazka vs. Carlos Ulberg for the vacant light heavyweight title.
In a new interview on the Ariel Helwani show, Prochazka explained how it was title shot or bust for him when it came to fighting at UFC 327, which is just two days before his partner is due to give birth to their first child.
“I’d like to fight later in June,” Prochazka admitted. “One month after the birth would be the best. My girlfriend told me, ‘If you will have the title fight 11th of May, let’s do that, but it has to be a big fight. Don’t fight some similar fight, because you can fight all the year these normal fights.’ Then we start to negotiate with the UFC about the title fight.’”
Everything just lined up with Alex Pereira (who has already beaten Jiri Prochazka with dark magic twice) looking to move up to heavyweight.
“I’m not surprised,” Prochazka said of the move. “I think it’s the gentleman’s thing to do when you go up and he wants to go up, it’s normal to release the title … [a rematch] I hoped for. Possible opponents for me were Ulberg or Pereira, I wanted just one of these two for a title fight because I don’t think other fighters deserve it. I believe sooner or later, Alex Pereira will come in my way.”
Now he’s 100% focused on Carlos Ulberg and plans to bring a high pressure game on April 11th.
“I already chose the way I like to hunt Ulberg, because he don’t like the pressure,” Prochazka said. “He don’t like to be hunted. This is what I say to myself: I need to be that one who catches this guy. There is no other way to fight with him. He is fast, good kickboxer, he likes to jump a lot, be light on the legs. He don’t like to wrestle, he don’t like to be on the ground. So pressure, pressure. That’s it.”
