New UFC light heavyweight king Magomed Ankalaev has quickly made an enemy out of a typically respectful former champion.
UFC 313 marked the biggest moment of Ankalaev’s career this past Saturday in Las Vegas, as the Dagestan native stayed true to his word and dethroned Alex Pereira in a hard-fought unanimous decision, prompting plenty of mixed reactions throughout the sport. One of the most invested parties for the fight was former titleholder Jiri Prochazka, who’s already suffered two defeats to Pereira.
Had Pereira stayed champion, Prochazka would’ve remained trapped in a title scene limbo because of their history, so it was somewhat surprising to see the Czech Republic native call for a trilogy bout with Pereira in the immediate aftermath of UFC 313. But after landing on the receiving end of some unexpected jabs from Ankalaev on social media, Prochazka’s sights are now set squarely on the champ.
“After their fight, I just thought Alex will be now free and it will be a more logical fight to go with Alex and win one more fight before the title,” Prochazka said Monday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “But then I realized, I want the title. I want to go [fight] Ankalaev because of his style — and his mouth. What he’s saying is something — I don’t like it. I like all the people except him. He’s too much.”
Ankalaev has been uncharacteristically active on social media since UFC 313, particularly on X, and responded to Prochazka’s congratulatory post by calling Prochazka a “fraud” and a “terrible fighter.” Ankalaev told Prochazka that other light heavyweights deserve a title shot more than him and that he needs to earn more wins before getting the opportunity to fight again for the belt.
Prochazka, 32, recently scored a knockout of Jamahal Hill in January at UFC 311 to rebound from his second Pereira loss, making him 5-2 in the UFC with all five wins coming in highlight-reel stoppages.
After this past weekend, Prochazka can’t help but feel the new champ’s bark is bigger than his bite.
“He can think whatever he wants, but I know that the only person who is a fraud is him,” Prochazka said, “because when I met him in the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, he was there, he was very nice, he was friendly, ‘Hello, nice to meet you,’ all good. And right now he’s a superstar and a big gangster, and right now he’s playing these games and he’s hyped. And I understand, he won the title against [the] worst performance Alex Pereira [has ever had]. The only fraud person here is Magomed Ankalaev.
“And [calling me the] worst fighter? Man, I’m every time giving everything to my fights. Every time, I’m going to finish my opponent and to give it all in my fights. Not like him. When he’s fighting, he’ll [be] in a third or second round, when there’s [an exciting] performance [unfolding from his opponent], he’s trying to a little bit run, run [away] from the performance, [run] from the attacking, from the aggressive attacks. So that gives me only one [takeaway]: The only fraud person here is Magomed Ankalaev.
“Right now he’s the champion, but I think nobody likes that and nobody respects that he’s the champion.”
The general consensus ahead of UFC 313’s main event was that Ankalaev’s well-rounded game provided the toughest stylistic matchup Pereira had dealt with over his 205-pound run. Yet Ankalaev surprised Prochazka by winning the striking battle while failing to score a single takedown on 12 attempts.
Having fought Pereira twice, Prochazka expressed surprise that Ankalaev didn’t find more success with his wrestling and doubled down on his belief that “Poatan” simply had an off night.
Unfortunately for Prochazka, he may also be the odd man out of the immediate title picture after UFC 313, with a rematch between Ankalaev and Pereira already being discussed by all parties involved.
Jan Blachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg is another significant upcoming light heavyweight bout, and Prochazka knows its winner may be the logical next step for him if Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 does happen. Prochazka said he plans to speak with his managers in London when Blachowicz vs. Ulberg goes down on March 22.
Because now, after hearing from the new champ, Prochazka is single-minded in his goal for 2025.
“I will do whatever is necessary to catch Ankalaev,” Prochazka said.
