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.
Kylian Mbappe struck from the penalty spot as Real Madrid beat a dogged CA Osasuna 1-0 on Tuesday to make a winning start in Spanish La Liga under new coach Xabi Alonso. The France striker, last season’s European Golden Shoe winner, scored early in the second half, after he was fouled in the area by Osasuna defender Juan Cruz. It was enough to seal the points in Alonso’s first game in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Madrid now unbeaten in their opening fixture of a league campaign since 2008. “You can see that Kylian wants to do even more
Spanish champions Barcelona opened their Spanish La Liga campaign on Saturday with an island cruise as they played almost an hour against nine men on their way to a 3-0 victory in RCD Mallorca. Barcelona’s second-half stroll did not please coach Hansi Flick. “They’re three important points, but I didn’t like the match,” he told broadcaster Movistar. “After going two goals up and following Mallorca’s two red cards, I think the team only gave 50 percent, and I didn’t like that,” he said. “Playing at 50 or 60 per cent is not possible against nine players.” Two of Barcelona’s Ballon
Manchester City signaled their intent to take back the English Premier League title as Erling Haaland struck twice in a 4-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday to begin their campaign. After four consecutive titles, City finished a distant third last season as Pep Guardiola’s men failed to win any trophy for the first time in eight years. New signings Tijjani Reijnders, who was the star of the show at Molineux, and Rayan Cherki were also on target to give Guardiola hope his side would be back in the title race this season. “We knew he is a top signing
Kevin de Bruyne is to lead SSC Napoli’s Serie A title defense today when he makes his full debut at promoted US Sassuolo, but the champions head into the new season rocked by a long-term injury to star striker Romelu Lukaku. De Bruyne was, alongside aging icon Luka Modric, the big new name to arrive in Italy this summer and fans were hoping his linkup with Belgium teammate Lukaku would push Napoli to success both at home and in their return to the UEFA Champions League. The 34-year-old has suffered from hamstring injuries which caused him to miss significant chunks of the
RSS