Jiří Procházka, born in Hostěradice on 14 October 1992, competes as a professional in MMA (mixed martial arts). In the UFC he won the light heavyweight title, as the first Czech to do so.[1]
Path to sport
According to an interview published by Masaryk University, as a boy he played football, floorball and rode a bike. He encountered combat sports at secondary school, where judo, karate and Greco-Roman wrestling were compulsory. He then decided on a more contact-oriented sport and began with Muay Thai.[2] In Thai boxing he became champion of the Czech Republic.[1]
After secondary school he enrolled at a language school to have time for training, and alongside it worked as a nightclub bouncer, which paid for the gym and coaches. According to him, the turning point in his career was the period when he started to fight, won something and found a sponsor. By his own account, he now makes a living from fighting, and the team around him, including an accountant and a manager, is paid from his earnings.[2]
MMA career
He began in MMA in the domestic organization GCF, where he became champion. He later moved to the Japanese organization Rizin, where after several fights he became a challenger and won the title by defeating Muhammed Lawal.[1]
In the UFC he won his first two fights by knockout, first over Volkan Oezdemir and then over Dominick Reyes. In a five-round title fight he defeated champion Glover Teixeira by choke.[1] The university interview describes him, at the time it was written, as only the fifth Czech in the UFC; he entered under the nickname Denisa.[2]
Preparation
According to the interview, in preparation he trains twice a day, at training camps three times a day, at least five days a week. He competes in the up to 93 kg category and, by his own account, cuts about seven kilograms before a fight, using hot water and a sauna.[2]
Studies and other activities
Procházka graduated from the Bezpečnostně právní akademie and then studied at the Faculty of Sports Studies of Masaryk University, in the field of Special Education of Security Forces. In the interview he said that he wants to pass on his experience to younger athletes in the future.[2] According to the City of Brno page, he completed the bachelor's programme and is starting the master's programme.[1]
He founded the foundation BJP Foundation, whose aim is to help seriously ill children and adolescents. The City of Brno states that he avoids insulting opponents and that he is a holder of the City of Brno Award.[1]