Jiri Prochazka: Beautiful, Chaotic Violence
An ominous presence from the Czech Republic, named Jiri Prochazka, sent shock waves in the mixed martial arts world, scoring the third spinning elbow finish in UFC history, in a star-making performance.
Prochazka made his UFC debut back in July 2020 against the formidable Swiss powerhouse, Volkan Oezdemir. It was clear that the promotion held Prochazka’s skillset in high regard by putting him in a dicey setting on his first day at the job. The UFC operates on a sink or swim system, with no exceptions, which is precisely why Jiri Prochazka declined his first invitation to the big leagues a few years back.
The 28-year-old Prochazka takes pride in his cerebral approach towards every detail in life, and it’s no different when it comes to the fight game. Prochazka took the calculated route of not rushing his UFC debut until he felt ready to take on the champion from the start, which is the identical path that Middleweight king, Israel Adesanya took. And once Jiri made his long-anticipated debut, poetic violence was on full display.
What can change your perspective on life? A book? A conversation? Or even a training session? Well, for the pride of Czech, it was the book of five rings. At the early stages of his career, Jiri’s coach gifted him the book of five rings, which focuses mainly on the mindset, spirit and attitude of the old age samurai warriors.
With one read, Prochazka’s approach towards the fight game instantly switched into a free spirit, embracing the fight game’s honourary aspect and, most importantly, the beautiful, chaotic violence.
Although Czech’s Prochazka made his UFC debut last July, fans would be mistaken if they would think that Jiri lacks any high-level experience, far from it.
Prochazka’s been competing in one of the most dangerous, talent-stacked organizations in the world, Rizin. Not only did Prochazka start competing in Rizin since he was 22 years old, but his debut was against current Bellator light heavyweight champion, Vadim Nemkov, who’s been a dominant, wrecking force for the past five years. The 22-year-old at the time needed no more than ten minutes to make Nemkov raise the white flag due to exhaustion.
Prochazka ran through Rizin’s stiff lineup, finishing ten of his eleven wins in the Japanese organization. While running through the competition, Prochazka’s frenetic, chaotic, high-risk style was the recipe for his fiction-like record of 28 wins, 27 finishes, with 24 ending in the first round.
Pick your poison with the Czechs born. Power in both hands, a shot selection from unorthodox, distance deceiving angles, with a pressure that tends to break the bravest of men.
While most thought that Jiri’s perplexing tactics wouldn’t work on the sport’s elite, Pchozaka just laid out the man who arguably beat the all-time great, Jon Jones, Dominick Reyes, courtesy of one of the nastiest, most devastating spinning elbow knockouts in the promotion’s history.
The scariest part of it all, the 28-year-old is only getting better. Prochazka showed vast improvements against Reyes compared to his UFC debut, where he absorbed significant damaging shots against Swiss powerhouse, Volkan Oezdemir. However, against the most accurate sniper in the division, Dominick Reyes, Prochazka showed illusiveness, head movement, and patience, securing himself a title shot with as many style points as you could produce.
As Poland’s Jan Blachowicz gears up to make his second title defence against the surging Brazilian, Glover Texiera, UFC president Dana White announced that Prochazka’s next outing would be for gold. Great news for Jiri, not so much for the man holding the 12lbs of gold following UFC 266.
Written by: Tarek Alsabbagh, Lightkeeper Promotions
