Jiri Prochazka Reveals He Nearly Confronted Magomed Ankalaev Before UFC 320

UFC light heavyweight star Jiri Prochazka has revealed that he came close to confronting Magomed Ankalaev and his manager prior to UFC 320.

Last weekend, Jiri Prochazka came away with a huge victory as he knocked out Khalil Rountree Jr in Las Vegas. On the same card, Magomed Ankalaev lost his UFC light heavyweight championship as he was defeated via TKO at the hands of Alex Pereira – the same man who he beat for the belt earlier this year.

Jiri Prochazka was in the crowd during Pereira’s win over Ankalaev, and he seemed to get quite emotional at the result. He’s since suggested that it was partially because he’s eager for a trilogy bout with Pereira, but in equal measure, he also wasn’t happy with some of the trash talk being thrown his way by Ankalaev on social media (or perhaps his manager Ali Abdelaziz).

Jiri Prochazka discusses Magomed Ankalaev beef

“Before this fight (against Rountree), I was prepared to go for his manager (Abdelaziz) or Ankalaev and tell him, ‘What the f— was this s—? Why? Why you did that? I didn’t attack you with anything, so why you spoke these bulls—?’

“My coach told me, ‘Jiri, calm down. Our fight is Khalil Rountree right now. Let’s be focused for this one. Don’t be focused on anybody else.’

“I just kept that, yeah. And I’m happy I did that. I don’t like to be focused on anybody else before a fight,” Prochazka added.

Quotes via Bloody Elbow

Jiri is a true martial artist and he’s clearly never been someone who believes in the ‘trash talk’ side of things all too much. Alas, given that Carlos Ulberg could be in line for the next shot at the title, there’s every chance the UFC capitalizes on this by booking Prochazka vs Ankalaev.