Nor is there another one equal to Jiri Prochazka (30-4-1) in the current UFC. The Czech, who has just destroyed Rakic at the last UFC 300, will have the possibility of a rematch against champion Alex Pereira (10-2-0) in a short notice fight after McGregor’s withdrawal. “I was surprised that Pereira accepted a title fight on such short notice. I don’t know how it went for him, I didn’t know anything about the money when I accepted the fight. My goal is to get the title and bring it back to the Czech Republic,” he declared in the preview of a fight that has raised many expectations.
This will be a rematch of the fight they had in November 2023, when both faced each other and ‘Poatan’ won. In a fight that, it seemed, the Czech was winning. But the Brazilian has fire in his hands and knocked down his rival before the referee stopped the fight. After that, Prochazka was ‘reborn’ with the victory over Rakic and Pereira did the same against Hill in the same event (UFC 300). Now, he will defend the belt again.
Prochazka, who had previously lost the light heavyweight belt after an injury, is once again knocking on the door of the greats. He relies on ‘The Book of the Five Rings’ by Miyamoto Musashi to direct his life and on many occasions he has completely ‘disconnected’ from the world to withdraw for days. “It gives me a basic moral code. The book evolves with life. The idea of the samurai helps me all the time,” he declared at the time about Musashi’s writing.
With a work ethic based on Bushido, Prochazka considers himself a warrior: “I simply accept this lifestyle and promise myself that I will do everything possible to achieve mastery. Being the master, it is something I have in mind. That is why I must wake up in the morning, go for a run and then meditate, because when you really realize that you are just a consciousness and how clear that consciousness is, this quality of consciousness will be the quality of your life. Then, when you realize this, you will start to eat cleaner, speak cleaner, have better relationships with your friends, with your partner, with your family, and you will naturally start to be a good person. Sometimes we don’t see that but we all have that good within us.”
“I’m not a samurai, I’m just a guy from the Czech Republic,” he said, however, after beating Rakic. He took the weight off the matter. But he is already one of the fans’ favorites for his absolutely uncontrollable style. And now he can reign again.