Crown crumble: Jiri Prochazka faces ‘choke’ chants following third straight defeat

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Crown crumble: Jiri Prochazka faces ‘choke’ chants following third straight defeat

Originally posted on HITC | By Kyle Dimond | Last updated Apr 13, 2026 5:02 PM ET

Jiri Prochazka has only lost to two fighters in the past 10 years.

The ex-champ has been beaten six times in his career, and five of those have come by knockout, including three that happened during UFC title fights.

But Prochazka isn’t ready to move on from Alex Pereira just yet, despite having already been stopped twice by the Brazilian inside the Octagon. He’s still after a third fight between them.

After Carlos Ulberg finished Prochazka to claim the vacant light heavyweight title on Saturday night, one analyst spoke up about something fans had started wondering about already: whether he’d taken too much damage over time.

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Din Thomas questions Jiri Prochazka’s ability to deliver in big moments following UFC 327 loss

Jiri Prochazka pointed to his decision to go easy on Carlos Ulberg as the reason he couldn’t finish the fight, despite Ulberg clearly struggling with a leg injury.

Chael Sonnen and Din Thomas, speaking on the UFC’s ‘On the Road’ show, didn’t see it that way. They felt Prochazka missed chances to close out the fight.

Thomas went further, suggesting Prochazka may not have what it takes to perform when the pressure is highest.

“I want to say this with as much respect as I possibly can, and this is going to sound really bad,” he said. “But it almost to me is he’s kind of a choke artist in the big moments.”

Sonnen added that there was extra weight on Prochazka because this wasn’t his first chance to get back his light heavyweight belt.

Still, there have been times when Prochazka has turned things around in fights where he was behind or under pressure.

The 33-year-old has always fought with a kill-or-be-killed mindset. It didn’t pay off for him in Miami.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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