From rookie to samurai: Six fights that made Jiri Prochazka an MMA superstar

Jiri Prochazka has become a revelation for UFC fans in the last three years, mainly thanks to his original and very risky fighting style. Often he hardly covers himself and is a very offensive fighter. That's why his fights are so popular.

He started his road to his great triumphs on the Czech scene in the Cage Warrior organization and in 2015 he moved to the Japanese Rizin series, where he became the heavyweight champion in 2019. In his career, the native of Hosteradice has fought 33 fights, winning 29, drawing one and losing just three.

Let's look at his most memorable and important fights below.

Prochazka - Solc (Prague, December 2013)

Perhaps the first fight after which people started talking about Prochazka was his cage fight with Martin Solc at the gala of the oldest Czech MMA organization GCF - Gladiator Championship Fighting. It was Prochazka's 10th fight in a row.

An epic battle between two fighters who were almost just slugging it out in the last act decided the first-ever championship belt of a future world superstar. Prochazka destroyed his opponent after more than 14 minutes of hard-fought action with a jumping knee, and the referee then immediately signalled a knockout.

"It was actually the first fight in which Jiri Prochazka had to go to the third round and people in the Czech Republic often watch this fight in retrospect to remember his beginnings," recalls David Chmatal, a combat sports commentator on Czech station NOVA Sport.

Prochazka - Nemkov (Saitama, December 2015)

Thanks to a series of attractive fights on the Czech and then Russian scene, Prochazka got an invitation to the traditional New Year's Eve gala in Japan, where Vadim Nemkov, then the best welterweight in MMA and later the champion of Bellator, stood in his way in a pyramid of fights.

The rounds in Rizin were timed for 10 minutes and both fighters really put on a torrid fight for a full 10 minutes until exhaustion. Nemkov was unable to even get up at the end of the fight, Prochazka won on a technical KO.

"He recalled this fight as the most important fight that set him on the path for future challenges. It was also thanks to this performance in what was essentially an exhibition tournament that he was given the opportunity to continue working in Japan," Chmatal said.

After the victory over Nemkov, Prochazka was then faced with Muhammad Lawal on the same day, where he lost his concentration, probably due to immense fatigue, and the American champion took the trophy from him with a hard right hook followed by a knock-out.

Prochazka - Lawal II (Yokohama, April 2019)

In April 2019, the Czech fighter was given the opportunity to fight for the welterweight championship belt, and coincidentally, it was Muhammed Lawal who stood in his way. Until then, the American was one of three fighters he had lost to.

The well-prepared Prochazka was very careful this time and literally beat the American with his very active way of fighting. Lawal cashed in with a series of body shots that sent him crashing to the ground and the referee called it quits due to a technical KO. Perhaps it was a symbolic end to his time in Rizin, but Lawal was not as dominant as he had been a few years before and retired shortly after losing to Prochazka.

Prochazka - Oezdemir (Abu Dhabi, July 2020)

The Czech newcomer's debut fight in the UFC was so perfect that he received the Performance of the Night award on his debut. While the Swiss Volkan Oezdemir staged Prochazko's fighting technique, several attempts to get the fight to the ground failed.

And so the fight was over after 49 seconds of the second round when the Czech prepared his position with very active movement and hard punches with both hands. Finally, he sent Oezdemir, who was already standing with his back to the cage in a heavy defensive position, down with a combination of right and left hooks right to the head.

Prochazka - Reyes (Las Vegas, May 2021)

The second fight in the UFC was another incremental step up for Jiri Prochazka. He had to fight the seasoned and very physically fit American Reyes for almost 10 minutes of a tough fight when he admitted that he himself got knocked out.

"He hit me in the head and it was just a KO. Nobody knows, I was out for a second or two," he said. But then he ended the fight with an unexpected elbow strike.

"He's a crazy animal and he showed what he's made of again. Fighting the best guys like Jiri, who are also good people, is everything to me," Reyes complimented his Czech opponent, who came in looking like a samurai for the first time. Once again, it was the fight of the night.

Prochazka - Texeira (Singapore, June 2022)

This fierce battle for the championship belt went on for five long rounds and if the fight had gone to a time limit, the referee would surely have raised the Brazilian veteran's hand at the end. And so, Prochazka went for a total risk and surprised his competitor.

This time he didn't end the fight with a punch or a kick, but he overwhelmed the man who was virtually unbeatable on the ground in his strongest area. Prochazka began to choke Teixeira and he tapped out with 28 seconds left on the clock.

Prochazka has come out victorious in all three of his UFC fights so far, with his last loss coming in 2015 when he was sent down by the aforementioned Lawal with a right hook.

He says himself that although he returned his championship belt due to injury, he considers himself undefeated. "For me personally, nothing has changed since the last fight. I still feel like a champion. The time has come to show the world who is the rightful king," he said before his departure to the US.

The Prochazka - Pereira duel is the main event of the UFC 295 gala in New York and will take place on Saturday night in New York.