Jiri Prochazka was a soccer hooligan in his native Czech Republic until martial arts and an ancient Japanese text inspired him to turn from street fighting to cage fighting — and become a UFC world champion.
The Book of Five Rings was written in 1645 by the master Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, and when Prochazka was handed a copy about eight years ago he finally found the focus to “become a warrior” after a wildly misspent youth.
“You have to look into yourself, and you have to follow the rules — be honest, be brave, be calm in hard situations,” the 29-year-old Prochazka said of what he has learned from the book and from the bushido samurai code of discipline that it encourages.
Photo: AFP
Prochazka became the UFC’s first Czech world champion after a thrilling back-and-forth battle with Brazilian light heavyweight Glover Teixeira that went deep into the fifth and final round in Singapore in June. A battered Prochazka seemed on the verge of defeat to Teixeira, but somehow drew on reserves of strength to apply a choke hold and force the Brazilian veteran into submission.
“Some people say my style is unpredictable,” Prochazka said. “But I’m not doing unpredictable things. I am calm and I just look for the space for attack — where is the weak point of my opponent — and I attack.”
Prochazka was speaking over a video call from a remote cottage in a forest retreat a 30-minute drive from his birthplace in the southern Czech city of Brno.
His spartan surroundings are so he can be alone with his training, he said.
The cottage has electricity, but no running water, forcing Prochazka to take daily trips to a well.
Prochazka pointed his cellphone outside the cottage to show the dojo he has carved out of the forest floor and the gym equipment frames he has fashioned from local timber.
“You have to find the way that is best for you and this is what’s best for me,” said Prochazka, whose hair is styled in the chonmage top-knot favored by Japan’s ancient samurai warriors.
“I meditate, and I train, and I live the life I want to be living,” he said.
The sense of calm and purpose was not always with Prochazka.
As a teenager he fell in with the local Ultras — soccer hooligan gangs — supporting FC Zbrojovka Brno and fought in more than 100 street battles with rival fans.
“It was a part of my life and without that there would be no me like I am today,” he said of his youth. “I had to be that guy to become the guy I am now.”
At 17, Prochazka discovered Muay Thai kickboxing at a local gym and that he could fight legally. After winning a national title at 19 he turned to mixed martial arts (MMA) as the sport began to grow in global popularity.
Prochazka’s talent led him to Japan with the Rizin Fighting Federation where he was advised by a coach to read Musashi and the history of the ways of the samurai.
Prochazka started winning in Japan and his life turned around. A Rizin MMA title was followed by a call from the Las Vegas-based UFC in 2020.
Two straight knockout wins gave him the chance to face the 42-year-old Teixeira for the world title at UFC 275 in Singapore and Prochazka grabbed it.
Back in his cottage, recovering from a knuckle break suffered against Teixeira, Prochazka was plotting the next phase of his career and a possible rematch with the Brazilian.
“I am still going forward,” Prochazka said.
“In our lives we all have to fight at some time, in different ways. So I am still learning and I think we should never stop learning,” he added.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS