Retired UFC welterweight Matt Brown has raised questions about the long-term viability of Jiri Prochazka’s fighting style ahead of UFC 327, where the former light heavyweight champion defends against Carlos Ulberg on Saturday. Speaking on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast, Brown argued that Prochazka’s unorthodox approach has a ceiling and that opponents with sound striking skills are well-positioned to exploit it.
Brown drew comparisons to other elite strikers whose unconventional styles eventually worked against them as their careers progressed.
“You can’t play around with non-fundamentals forever,” Brown said. “At some point, that starts to catch up with you. I think we’ve seen that a little bit with Israel Adesanya, and we’ve seen it with Anderson Silva.”
The retired welterweight was careful to acknowledge Prochazka’s accomplishments while still making his case. He noted that the Czech fighter has achieved more in the sport than Brown himself did, but maintained that the lack of evolution in Prochazka’s game is a genuine concern going forward.
“It’s good to evolve, too,” Brown said. “He could always have that part of him as part of his game. I don’t mean to be the critic — he’s accomplished more than I did in my career — but I don’t see where it lasts and I don’t see where he’s evolved much at all. He’s just done more of the same.”
Alex Pereira’s two victories over Prochazka serve as Brown’s primary evidence that the former champion’s style can be decoded. Pereira identified patterns in Prochazka’s chaos and exploited them on two separate occasions, and Brown believes that blueprint is now available to anyone willing to study it and execute with discipline. He sees Ulberg as a fighter capable of doing exactly that.
“That’s where I lean a little bit towards Carlos Ulberg in this fight,” Brown said. “He’s a little less variety in his striking, and I’m not going to say one-dimensional but less dimensional, if that’s a term, but my point in saying that is look — Jiri can be figured out.”
Brown acknowledged that knowing the blueprint and executing it are two different things. The challenge for Ulberg will be maintaining composure when faced with the kind of pressure that has finished many of Prochazka’s opponents.
“The blueprint has been written how to beat Jiri,” Brown said. “If someone like Ulberg, who I think is very good, should be able to follow that blueprint.”
