Jiri Prochazka is a Mixed Martial Artist from the Czech Republic. He was born on October 14th, 1992. Nicknamed ‘Denisa,’ Jiri grew up without the guidance of an authority figure as his father died when Prochazka was at the age of 6. Jiri lived in the South Moravian Region of the country before his lifestyle changed due to his career in fighting.
Prochazka is known for being a wildcard in the Octagon. The origins of it go back to his childhood. Although it is not hard to imagine him being involved in any other form of sport other than combat sports, Jiri was a fan of soccer growing up. In an interview with denik.cz, he revealed that used to ride BMX bikes in his childhood as well.
The fighting spirit was prevalent within Jiri Prochazka since childhood. He used to get involved in local street fights on a regular basis. His love for soccer and fighting led him to join a hooligan club which was linked with Prochazka’s local soccer team, FC Zbrojovak. An article in ESPN states that he once partook in a brawl which involved 60 men (30 on each side).
How did Jiri Prochazka fall in love with MMA?
In an interview with New York Post, Jiri Prochazka spoke about how he got exposed to the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). During the interview, he stated that the video game series ‘TEKKEN’ first gave him the idea of martial arts. While playing the game, Jiri found the style of fighting very appealing.
He was further pushed towards the sport as a friend of his pushed him further towards the sport. Before joining high school, Jiri was shown clips of Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko Cro Cop who are legendary MMA fighters from Europe and ruled the sport in Japanese MMA promotion called ‘PRIDE’ in the late 90s and early 2000s. He also cited a Hollywood movie called ‘Never Back Down‘ as his source of inspiration.
Jiri Prochazka’s family and nationality
As mentioned above, Jiri Prochazka is from the Czech Republic. Although he revealed the death of his father took place when he was only 6, he is yet to reveal any further details regarding his mother or whether he has any siblings or not.
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However, in an interview with LP-Life.cz, Prochazka briefly mentioned his mother and stated she was worried about his intentions of becoming a fighter. But the 29-year-old has managed to convince his mother to not worry about him very much.
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Prochazka currently lives back in his home country of the Czech Republic. Despite hailing from the fairly modern city of Hosteradice, Jiri leads a life that avoids a lot of modern luxuries such as having a car.
His close associate Michal Sauer said to ESPN that Jiri lives in the wilderness, disconnected from the civilization. Although his small cottage has electricity and a gym, Prochazka has stayed from other modern technology.
Is Jiri Prochazka married?
The current UFC light-heavyweight fighter is heavily influenced by Miyamoto Musashi who is a Japanese philosopher, strategist, and writer. Jiri Prochazka has modelled his life around the Japanese master’s ideology and the book Musashi’s The Book of Five Rings.
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Having himself fully immersed in the Bushido culture, Prochazka prefers the life of solitude. Speaking to RT Sport MMA, Jiri stated that he wants to give all of his attention to training and practice. Hence he has no time for any kind of relationship. Hence, it is safe to assume that Prochazka is currently not dating anyone.
However, he was indeed in a relationship with Kamila Kordulikova during his days in the Japanese MMA promotion RIZEN. According to Extra.cz, Jiri Prochazka and Kamila broke up sometime in 2019, prior to Jiri joining the UFC. The report suggests that Jiri and her have remained good friends despite not being together anymore.
What is Jiri Prochazka’s record in MMA?
Jiri Prochazka started training for MMA when he was 17 years old and made his professional debut in 2012. Since then he has gone on to have 32 fights in his career till now. He has 28 wins and 3 losses in his career thus far. He is a violent knockout artist who has 25 KO wins and 2 submission wins.
One year after his debut, Prochazka got his first taste of championships. He became the inaugural GCF Light-Heavyweight Champion in 2013 as he beat Martin Solc via KO. He also successfully defended it against Tomas Penz in 2014. Jiri also became the very first RIZIN Light-Heavyweight Champion in April 2019 and had a successful title defence in December of the same year.
Prochazka will have the opportunity to become the UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion as well June 11th of 2022. He will take on Glover Teixeira in the main event of UFC 275.