It’s safe to say that nobody trains like Jiri Prochazka.
After securing a sensational come-from-behind KO against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300 in April, ‘BJP’ will make the quick turnaround to once again challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight championship. Their UFC 303 headliner will come seven months after their inaugural meeting in November 2023 when ‘Poatan’ scored a second-round knockout of Prochazka to take the vacant 205-pound title back to Brazil.
During a recent interview with Oscar Willis, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that when Prochazka was offered the title opportunity for June 29, he was sitting in a shed for three days meditating with no access to food or water.
“When Jiri (Prochakza) found out about the fight [with Alex Pereira]; apparently, he goes into a shed for three days with no water, no food, no nothing — and prays, meditates, whatever he does,” Dana White told The Mac Life. “Apparently, his coach went and banged on the door and told him that this fight was available, and he said something to the effect of ‘If this is what the universe wants’ — so he is that dude.
Dana White says Jiri Prochazka went into a shed for 3 days without water and food and meditated when he found out that the Alex Pereira fight was available 😳
🎥 @oscarswillis #UFC303 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/V4nJmJEEN2
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 28, 2024
It’s certainly not the first time, ‘BJP’ has taken to some fairly unconventional training methods. Previously, Prochazka revealed that part of his daily regimen includes punching a tree 500 times a day and that he once found himself lost in the freezing Las Vegas mountains for 18 hours.
“This is real, this isn’t fabricated bullsh*t where somebody wants to come out with a gimmicky f*ckin’ wrestling-type thing,” White explained. “This is who these two guys really f*ckin’ are, man. … These guys are both legit killers and numbers don’t lie, when you look at the stats of what these guys have accomplished, it’s incredible.”
Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira Have Combined for 34 Career Knockouts
Though Saturday’s sequel scrap with Alex Pereira will be just his sixth fight inside the Octagon, Jiri Prochazka is undoubtedly one of MMA’s most prolific finishers, scoring 26 career knockouts against 30 total wins.
Under the UFC banner, all of his KOs have come in the second round, with the exception of his Fight of the Year contender against Glover Teixeira at UFC 275—Prochazka finished that fight in the fifth round via an RNC.
Of course, Alex Pereira is no slouch when it comes to highlight-reel finishes. In 10 career wins, he has KO’d eight of his opponents, including former UFC champions Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jamahal Hill, and Prochazka.
Check out Dana White’s full interview below:
