Jiří Procházka (; ; born October 14,říProchá 1992) is a Czech professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was the inaugural Rizin Fighting Federation Light Heavyweight Champion and the inaugural Gladiator Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight Champion. As of December 6, 2022, he is #1 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings, and as of September 12, 2023, he is #14 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Early life
Procházka was born on October 14, 1992, in Znojmo in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). Procházka's father died when he was 6 years old. In his youth, Procházka played amateur football for TJ Družstevník Hostěradice. He was also an active freestyle BMX rider and a floorball player.
As a teen, Procházka partook in street fights almost weekly, getting into more than 100 of them. This eventually led him to join the hooligan club tied to Procházka's local football team, FC Zbrojovka Brno, where he would take part in organized group street fights with clubs of other teams, even participating in 30-on-30 brawls.
Procházka first encountered mixed martial arts before beginning high school, after a friend showed him videos of kickboxer Ramon Dekkers and mixed martial artists Mirko Filipovic and Fedor Emelianenko. After watching the film Never Back Down, he began to train in martial arts, in particular Thai boxing.
Mixed martial arts career
Gladiator Fighting Championship
Debut and initial fights
Procházka made his professional MMA debut in April 2012 for the Gladiator Fighting Championship, the biggest promotion in his native Czech Republic at the time. He amassed a 7–2 record within his first two years of fighting professionally.
Inaugural Light Heavyweight Champion
In his tenth professional bout, he won the inaugural GCF Light Heavyweight Championship in the back-and-forth fight against Czech MMA pioneer Martin Šolc via flying knee knockout on December 7, 2013, at GCF 26 FN. Video of the bout went viral in the Czech Republic and Procházka was also awarded a post-fight bonus. The fight was later awarded 'Czech Fight of the Year' by major media outlets.
Procházka defended his title against Tomáš Penz on June 6, 2014, at GCF 28: Cage Fight 4. He won the fight via technical knockout due to a flying knee in 41 seconds.
Procházka signed a deal with the Rizin Fighting Federation shortly before his win against Evgeni Kondratov. After amassing a record of 14–2–1 during his first three years in the sport, Procházka as the first Czech entered the Rizin Fighting Federation in 2015.
Rizin Fighting Federation
Heavyweight Grand Prix
Procházka made his promotional debut against Satoshi Ishii on December 29, 2015, in the World Grand Prix 2015 –100 kg tournament at the Rizin FF's first event Saraba no Utake. He won the quarter-final fight via knockout in the first round.
Procházka's next fight in the Rizin FF's -100 kg tournament was at Iza no Mai on December 31, 2015. He won the semi-final fight against Vadim Nemkov via technical knockout. Later that same night, he lost in the final round against Muhammed Lawal via knockout in the first round. Procházka weighed in at 95.9 kgs (211.5 pounds) for the tournament.
Procházka faced Kazuyuki Fujita on April 17, 2016, at Rizin 1 at a catchweight of 110 kgs (242.5 pounds). Procházka weighed in at 98.6 kgs (217.3 pounds) for the bout. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round.
Procházka faced Mark Tanios on September 25, 2016, at Rizin 2 - Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix 2016: Opening Round. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Procházka suffered a knee injury during the fight and was subsequently pulled from the tournament.
Return to Light Heavyweight
Procházka faced Willian Roberto Alves on September 29, 2017, at Fusion FN 16 - Cage Fight, the homecoming event organized by his team. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round.
Procházka faced Karl Albrektsson on December 29, 2017, at Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix 2017 - Bantamweight Tournament: 2nd Round. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round.
Procházka faced Bruno Cappelozza on July 28, 2018, at Rizin 11. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.
Procházka faced Jake Heun on September 30, 2018, at Rizin 13. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round.