Jiri Prochazka may best be known for his combat sports career where he’s been a UFC champion while putting together a highlight reel for the ages with some of his spectacular knockouts and submissions. But the 33-year-old Czech native also receives a lot of attention for his unusual and often unorthodox training regimen that seemingly blurs the line between preparation and potential lunacy.
From working on a punching back while completely blindfolded to clamping his nose closed while doing sprints
during fight week, Prochazka is nothing if not original when it comes to getting ready for an opponent. But he’s also openly discussed climbing mountains with no guide leading him and even swimming under ice in a frozen lake just to experience that level of exhilaration and fear of the unknown.
But Prochazka promises there’s a method to his madness and everything serves a purpose to ultimately lead him to victory in the UFC octagon.
“Fear and being nervous, I think when we explore our next version of ourselves, our new version of ourselves, there is a potential,” Prochazka told MMA Fighting. “I think to be nervous and feel the fear, to be uncomfortable and feel all these things, it’s a part of that. I think this is the moment when we have to be the most brave and the most powerful.
“I think it’s a chance to prove that we are ready for what we asked for. I’m not taking that as something bad. I’m taking that like a call. A call to prove that I’m ready for what I wanted to have, what I wanted to prove.”
In many ways it feels like Prochazka is always preparing for a fight.
Of course, his eccentric approach isn’t embraced by everybody but Prochazka knows it works great for him. That’s why something even as innocuous as a fight week staredown with opponent Carlos Ulberg is a moment that Prochazka keeps to himself rather than talk about the feelings that came along with that meeting.
Prochazka actually posted a brief clip of that faceoff with Ulberg to kick off fight week but don’t expect him to explain what he took away from that encounter because he’s the only one who will ever know what that was like.
“You know this is something I don’t want to speak about for the audience, to everyone,” Prochazka said about the faceoff. “This is something I want to keep to myself. He knows also we met the first time together or the second time and I’m looking forward. That’s all I can say.”
Prochazka always keeps his cards close to the vest, which is why he doesn’t even like talking too much about his upcoming opponent.
Since joining the UFC roster, Ulberg has gone 9-1 with nine straight victories on his resume including six of those ending by knockout or submission.
“He’s a very systematic fighter,” Prochazka said about Ulberg. “He has a lot of things what he’s repeating. Like every time, I’m ready for the best version of Carlos Ulberg. Even if he wants to go to the ground and do some ground game and then try the takedown, because we worked a lot in this preparation, especially for his type of attacks, especially for his favorite technique, which everybody knows is his light hands. A lot of moves and fast kicks.
“All of them, I’m expecting the best version of Carlos Ulberg and I believe I’m able to handle that and win the fight.”
Assuming he’s victorious at UFC 327 and he becomes a two-time UFC champion, Prochazka’s next biggest adventure is fatherhood with the birth of his first child expected soon.
Starting a family has definitely made Prochazka prioritize what’s most important to him, which is why he’s not as willing to take unnecessary risks with his life outside the cage as much moving forward.
He’s promised to do things more “professionally” in the future — meaning he’ll follow a guide or a map the next time he’s climbing a mountain — but he’s never going to stop pushing himself to the absolute limit.
That includes conquering the highest peak on Earth after Arman Tsarukyan asked Prochazka recently if he would be interested in climbing Mount Everest one day. It’s safe to say, Prochazka accepted that challenge.
“That’s something what Arman [Tsarukyan] said in a stream or something,” Prochazka said. “Yes, OK, I like to climb the highest points of this planet. So I think yes his is one of the things I really want to do.”
