Jiri Prochazka has two big moments on the horizon: his UFC 327 light heavyweight title fight against Carlos Ulberg in Miami, and the birth of his daughter in the Czech Republic, which is due to happen days after his April 11th bout.
Prochazka clearly takes the impending birth seriously, and told the UFC he’d only fight in April if it was for a title. His partner Kamila Kordulikova has shared her feelings about the situation, and now Jiri is doing the same on the Dan Le Batard Show.
“Right now there
is no other thing than the mission next week,” Prochazka said. “I believe that my girlfriend will handle these things and everything will be all right after the fight. I have my mission, and she have her mission about that.”
“I just believe that I can do my mission. I can be successful in my mission. And my girlfriend, I believe in her, she can handle all these moments right now, as she’s at the finish line. We are in contact every day and we are setting to power each other. Everybody have their fights.”
While being apart at this critical moment isn’t optimal, Prochazka says he’s receiving psychic energy from across the Atlantic directly from his girlfriend’s belly.
“Maybe I’m not realizing it yet, but I feel the power,” Prochazka told MMA Junkie in another interview. “Really feel something that’s in the beyond, behind the feelings, behind the emotions. There is something that is stronger than I ever, ever, ever met before. I can tell, and it’s not the reason. It’s really something that was here.
“And every time I have a call with my girlfriend every day, we are doing special breathing stuff together to keep ourselves in connection, so every time I see her belly, I can’t explain. I can’t explain right now, but yeah.”
Prochazka’s fight with Ulberg is on April 11th and then his baby is due on April 13th. That’s a lot of pressure, even for a man who prides himself on his calmness and mental clarity. We’ll see how Jiri handles it at UFC 327.
