UFC fighter Jiri Prochazka hopes his Asian success will continue in Singapore card

MANILA, Philippines – Somehow, for Czech light heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter Jiri Prochazka (28-3; 2-0 in the UFC), Asia has provided him with a pathway to success.

At the beginning of his mixed martial arts journey in his native Czech Republic, his coach gave Jiri a book, The Book of Five Rings.

Written in 1645 by Japanese swordsman and philosopher Miyamoto Musashi, the books talk about many of life’s philosophies from the point of view of a swordsman.

Prochazka was taken by the philosophies including the last tome, The Book of the Void, that preached living with a correct mindset and Zen-influenced consciousness. 

“It provided me with a mental framework and how to strategize,” said Prochazka in an exclusive interview with Philstar.com.

Amazingly, after initially fighting in his native soil aside from Germany, Russia and Serbia, Prochazka found himself fighting in the Japanese promotion, Rizkin Fighting Federation by 2017.

Jiri achieved a 9-1 record in Rizkin with his final win, against former UFC fighter CB Dolloway, attracting the attention of UFC officials. 

“It was after defending my title against CB Dolloway that I was offered a contract by the UFC,” pointed out Prochazka. “Japan, and Asia, of course, provided me with a pathway to the UFC. 

In just two fights — wins over Volkan Oedemir and Dominick Reyes — that earned him “Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night” for both, he will now have the opportunity to fight current champion, Glover Teixeira (33-7; 16-5 in the UFC) in UFC 275 at the Singapore this June 12. 

And for the second time in his UFC career, Prochazka will be in the main event. Something not lost to him.

“It is nice to be recognized,” he enthused. “Now, I have to make sure that I make the most out of these opportunities. I have tremendous respect for Glover. I was only starting out in MMA in 2012 when he began his UFC career. And he was already a veteran before he entered the UFC.”

Yet, mixed martial arts is a brutal sport. And Prochazka hopes that he will be in his best form for June 12.

“Hopefully, I can go BSP on him,” he laughed.  

“BSP’ stands for bomby jak pica (read as bomby yak pichka) with its closest English translation as “Bomb the s*** out of them.”

“But it will be a tough fight. Glover isn't a champion for nothing,” said Prochazka.

But the prospect of fighting in Asia once more is tantalizing. “I will be back in Asia,” Jiri noted. “Hopefully, it will be good for me again.” 

UFC 275 will be televised in the Philippines on the Premier Sports Channel on Skycable and Cignal as well as on the TapGo streaming application.