Jiri Prochazka is always ready.
That mindset has served Prochazka well, as he has a chance to reclaim the light heavyweight title this Saturday in a rematch against Alex Pereira at UFC 303 in Las Vegas. Prochazka lost by TKO to Pereira in their first bout in November 2023 but bounced back with a knockout over Aleksandar Rakic to earn himself a spot on the challenger list.
While Prochaska and Pereira were likely to fight again later this year (Prochaska said the rematch was scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi on October 26 or in Australia on August 18), it came as a surprise to many when the two were announced as the new headliners for UFC 303 following Conor McGregor's injury-hit withdrawal from the main event where he was scheduled to face Michael Chandler.
Prochaska himself still isn't sure why Pereira agreed to defend his title on short notice.
“I was a little surprised, yes, I can say that,” Prochaska said. MMA Hour“I don't know if it was money or something else that made him say yes, but in my dealings with UFC, they gave me a better deal. I don't want to get specific, but I negotiated a better deal. So I don't know what it was with Alex.”
“But when I accepted, I didn’t know anything about money. [the fight]”For me this is not so important because what matters is winning the title and bringing it home to the Czech Republic,” Prohaska added.
Prochazka has stayed busy for the better part of the past decade, fighting 15 times since 2016 and losing just once during that time. He defeated Pereira's mentor, Glover Teixeira, to win the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in 2022, but never got the chance to defend it after a shoulder injury forced him to vacate the belt.
The 31-year-old is keen to make up for lost time and would welcome the unexpected opportunity if it presented itself.
“I believe in it,” Prochaska said, “I was born a warrior. Not that I believe in it, but I am a warrior. It just means that when the situation and things around you are the way they are, you just have to say yes. You react to what happens. Because when something happens on the street, you have to react right now. Right here, right now. That's why I like short notice, because you have to react right here, right now. Show me your best, right now. That's it.”
The only loss Prochazka has suffered inside the cage in recent years came against Pereira at UFC 295. Pereira hurt Prochazka with a strike late in the second round to win the vacant title, although the stoppage was disputed as it was unclear how close Prochazka was to actually finishing the fight.
When asked if Saturday's main event was a chance for revenge, Prochazka offered a semantic retort.
“It's not just a chance,” Prochaska said. “I'm going to win matches. I'm going to win matches, and I believe that, and I'm going to do that, and that's it. I don't go into a match where I don't believe in myself. I've already accepted that I'm going to give it my all, and now is my chance to show that.”
Prochazka has become as famous for his stoic personality as he is for his thrilling fights, but little is known about his life outside of fighting, with his social media posts often focused on his unconventional training and preparation.
The light heavyweight contender assures fans he is a well-rounded man, but as long as he is competing, he has only one focus, and that is what has enriched him his entire life.
“I've made a promise to myself that I'm going to embrace this lifestyle and do everything I can to become a master,” Prochaska said. “To be a master of my field, that's what's in my heart. That's who I am, that's my soul, that's my lifestyle. That's why I do it. That's why I have to get up in the morning and go for a run and meditate. Because when you really realize — and that's been a game changer in my life — when you realize that you are just consciousness and how clear that consciousness is, the quality of this consciousness becomes the quality of your life. And when you realize this, you start eating cleaner, you speak cleaner, you start having better relationships with your friends, your girlfriend, your family, and you just naturally start to become a better person. It's not that you start becoming a better person, everyone is a good person. It's just that everyone has goodness inside of them, sometimes we just don't realize it.
“So, I have no enemies in this world, because there is only one enemy here, and that is my ego. It still keeps us passive towards what we want, and we don't want to do that. But when we embrace the way of the warrior, and not just become a warrior, but fight our weaknesses as the warrior within, everything changes.”
