Jiří Procházka: world-class Czech MMA fighter

Jiří BJP Procházka is a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter weighing 93 kg (light heavy weight) who comes from Hostěradice in South Moravia. In December 2013, he received a degree in the Czech organization GCF. In late 2015, he signed with Japan's Rizin Fighting Federation and is the first ever light heavyweight title holder and defender to be released by the organization. In 2020, he joined the UFC organization, where he won the light heavyweight title in June 2022.

Who is Jiří Procházka?

He was born on October 14, 1992, he is 193 cm tall and weighs 93 kg. He is a graduate of the Bachelor of Special Education of Security Forces at the MU Faculty of Sports Studies. He liked fights from childhood and had a reputation as a brawler at a young age. Although he doesn't smoke, he sometimes has a cigarette to celebrate after winning matches. He underwent the maturity test of the Amazon Indians, when they rubbed the juice of Amazon chili peppers into his eyes. Although tattoos are very popular among MMA fighters, Jirka does not have any and does not plan to

Another interesting thing was his first nickname, which is unusual among tough UFC fighters. His nickname was "Denisa". He came up with the name Jiří "Denisa" Procházka completely by accident, when he answered the coach at the very moment when he was calling a girl named Denisa. Now he performs as Jiří "BJP" Procházka, where the nickname BJP is also his brand, under which he runs his shop and, in addition to clothes, also has other sports equipment and accessories.

He likes film music by composers such as Hans Zimmer, Steve Jablonsky or Zack Hemsey. He also listens to classical music a lot, for example Vivaldi or Beethoven, but also bands like Rage Against the Machine, Rammstein or The Prodigy. 

How did his journey begin?

Initially, Jiří devoted himself to Thai boxing (muaythai), in which he won the title in his weight category (up to 86.2 kg) at the national championship in 2011. However, he then switched to MMA.

"When I came to training for the first time, I liked the way things were going. There was energy there, it was pedaling and I was able to discharge myself and I went home with a great feeling," said Jiří.

He completed his first professional match in 2012 against Stanislav Futer, whom he defeated in the first round. After less than 2 years among the pros, he became the champion of the then best Czech organization GCF. He won his first major belt on December 7, 2013, when he finished the experienced veteran Jiří Šolec with a knee jump in a memorable match. In 3 years in the pros, he recorded 17 fights, of which he lost only 2.

Champion in the Rizin FF organization

On December 29, 2015, he signed a contract with the Japanese organization Rizin Fighting Federation. Procházka ended the first match with Olympic judo champion and local legend Satoshi Ishii in the first minute with a kick to the head. He did not finish the second match in the usual way - Vladimir Nemkov, however, refused to continue and therefore won again. He lost his next fight by KO to Muhammad Lawal.

In Rizin's first numbered match, he faced Kazuyuki Fujita, whom he knocked out in the first round. In the next match, he took care of his leg in the second minute, but still defeated Marko Tanios on points. The return from injury was a match with Roberto Alves under the Fusion FN organization. In other matches, which took place again in the Japanese organization, he defeated Karel Albrektsson, Bruno Henrique Cappelozza and Jake Heunem in the first round.

Rival at the RIZIN 14 New Year's Eve tournament, Emanuel Newton, was injured, so Procházka faced Brandon Halsey, whom he finished with a technical KO at 6:30.

On April 21, 2019 at the Yokohama Arena, he fought Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal for the Rizin FF Light Heavyweight Championship. He won the match in the 3rd round by technical KO and thus became the first ever light heavyweight champion of the Rizin FF organization.

In the 100 kg match, he knocked out Fábia Maldonada after less than 2 minutes. At the Rizin 20 tournament on New Year's Eve, he knocked out C.B. Dolloway in less than 2 minutes to defend his title. Subsequently, his contract with the Rizin organization expired. And Jiří was looking for a new challenge.

The road to the title in the UFC

On 1/16/2020, he announced the signing of a contract in the UFC league, where he wanted to fight for the championship title. After Karlos Vémola, Viktor Pešta, Lucie Pudilova and David Dvořák, he became only the fifth Czech to fight in this MMA competition.

In his first fight on 7/11/2020, he faced Volkan Oezdemir of Switzerland, who at the time was ranked #7 in the light heavyweight world rankings. Although he lost the first round, in the second round at 0:49 he knocked out Oezdemira with a right hook and claimed his first win in the UFC organization. The win moved him up to No. 8 overall in the light heavyweight world rankings.

In the second UFC match on 5/2/2021, he fought the Devastator - Dominick Reyes from the USA, who at that time was ranked 3rd in the light heavyweight world rankings. In the second round, he knocked out Reyes with a spinning elbow to secure his second win. This Spinning Back Elbow KO was announced as the second best KO of 2021. He won Performance of the night and Fight of the night for his performance. After this match, he was challenged by then Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowitz, but lost his title to Glover Teixeira.

He became the first Czech UFC light heavyweight champion on 12/06/2022, when he surrendered to him in the fifth round at 4:32 using the Rear Naked Choke technique from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's fighter Glover Teixeira, who is considered the greatest master of Jiu-Jitsu -Jitsu in the UFC. That was the shortest path to a UFC title ever.

However, before the rematch with Glover Teixeira, which was supposed to take place on 12/10, he seriously injured his shoulder and canceled the fight. He also relinquished his championship after consulting with UFC management.

Procházka vs. Pereira at Madison Square Garden

On 11/11/2023, a fight took place for the UFC champion's belt in the light heavyweight category, this time with the Brazilian Alex Periera, who won this chance in a match with Jan Blachowicz. Even though the match didn't go according to our expectations, Jiří remains a champion for us. We believe that the UFC championship belt will return to him again in 2024.

Referee Marc Goddard stopped the title fight that was the highlight of UFC 295 less than a minute into the second of five rounds when Pereira hit Jiří with a hard left hook that sent him to the ground. Although Jiří immediately went to his knees, Pereira showered him with elbow strikes and the referee stopped the fight. Some believe that the referee ended the match too early, but Jiří himself admitted that it was the right thing to do. For Jiří, this is the first defeat in the UFC organization.

Alex Pereira is a well-known kickboxer who has won several titles and became the world champion in the prestigious Glory middleweight organization. He expanded his career to MMA and signed a contract with the UFC in 2021, where he quickly achieved considerable success. An interesting fact is that Pereira's trainer and close friend is his compatriot Glover Teixeira, whom Procházka defeated on 6/12/2022, thus becoming the first Czech UFC champion.

This earned Alex Pereira his second UFC title, making him only the 10th fighter in history to be a UFC champion in two different weight divisions. He won the middleweight championship belt almost exactly a year earlier in Madison Square Garden. However, he lost a rematch with New Zealander Israel Adesanya in April and moved up a weight class.

UFC balance Procházka vs. Pereira before 11/11/2023:

• Jiří Procházka: 3 matches, 3-0 (2x KO)
• Alex Pereira: 6 fights, 5-1 (1x KO, 2x TKO)

The UFC 295 gala evening took place in New York's Madison Square Garden, which is the home of the hockey NY Rangers, but legendary MMA stars such as Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre or boxers such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier or Mike Tyson have also fought here.

The legendary Jon Jones was also supposed to fight at the UFC 295 gala. However, he tore a tendon during a routine practice and this injury is estimated to sideline him for around 8 months. Jones has only lost once in his career, and that was by disqualification for an illegal strike. His opponent was supposed to be Stipe Miocic, who is a full-time firefighter by profession.

Procházka vs. Rakič at UFC 300

On April 13, 2024, a match with the Austrian Aleksandar Rakic ​​took place as part of the URC 300 in Las Vegas. Due to injuries on both sides, the duel, which had been brewing for years, did not take place. After an uncomfortable first round, Jiří turned the game around and ended the fight in the second round at 3:17 with a technical knockout. Along with Max Holloway, he won the performance of the night award. With his victory, Jiří secured a good position so that he could soon fight again for the title of UFC light heavyweight champion.

Aleksandar Rakic made his UFC debut on September 2, 2017 in a match against Francimar Barroso and has a total of 8 fights in the UFC. Rakič returns after a nearly two-year hiatus forced by a knee injury from May 2022, when he tore a ligament in his knee in the 3rd round against Jan Blachowicz. Despite the long inactivity, he held the 5th place in the world ranking.

UFC balance Procházka vs. Rakic before the match on 13/04/2024:

• Jiří Procházka UFC: 4 matches, 3-1 (2× KO)
• Aleksandar Rakič UFC: 8 fights, 6-2 (1× KO, 1× TKO)

Match Procházka vs. Rakič was the main match at the Prelims of the jubilee UFC 300, which took place in Las Vegas. The main event featured a fight for the UFC light heavyweight title between former champion Jamahal Hill and Alex Pereira, who won the title in a November 2023 fight with Jiří.

Where and how does Jiří train?

The preparation for the November match will take place mainly in the Czech Republic - because he is still the world's best, the sparring partners usually go to see him. Under the guidance of coaches Martin Karaivanov and Jaroslav Hovězák, he trains in the club Jetsaam Gym Brno, where he is a regular member. He also recently trains at the 119 MMA club, which was founded by Jaroslav Hovězák in 2023.

"When I was doing it here, I consulted Jiří about what he would like. We have the best tatami in the world, a competition cage. I was lucky enough that Jiří and I saw Thailand, Japan, America, we saw trends there, I went to gyms there. When I look at the videos of how Strickland trains with Pereira in the Teixeira gym, he is half as good," says Jaroslav Hovězák about the 119 MMA gym.

The Path of the Conscious Warrior

In addition to physical training, personal and spiritual development is also close to Jirko. A great inspiration for him was the work of the legendary Japanese samurai Miyamoto Musashi - The Book of Five Circles, which he received from his trainer before his trip to Japan. It is about the way of the warrior, about the samurai code called Bushido, which is based on being selfless without a thought of the goal. It's just you and the action, then you yourself become the action.

“There is nothing outside of you that can make you better, stronger, richer, faster, or smarter. Everything is already in you. Everything already exists. Look for nothing outside.” The Book of Five Circles, Miyamoto Musashi

His goal is the state that the samurai call Munen musó, where word, thought, and action are one and the same. Nothing is in contradiction, it achieves harmony and there is no room for anything else.

Jirka became more interested in the topic and started reading books like New Earth by Eckhart Tolle or The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. He discovered meditation, broadened his perspective to include the inner world, through which he began to fully perceive his mind, feelings and reactions to situations. He realized the power of living in the present moment and that he is fully responsible for his experience. Thanks to this, he began to think, behave and experience things completely differently, which also helps him in the match.

Jiří's BJP Foundation

For more than 10 years, he has been fighting for the improvement of the conditions of MMA athletes and the professionalization of MMA sport in the Czech Republic, but also for better living conditions for seriously ill children and teenagers. Therefore, he founded the BJP Foundation, which covers these activities. Its main goal is targeted help to sick children, but also to their families and the medical facilities in which they are treated. The BJP Foundation organizes benefit concerts, sports matches or even a children's day.

BJP brand and own e-shop

He got the idea to start his own brand at the beginning of 2016. At that time, he was already famous and wanted to offer fans merch that they can use to express their attitude towards life. From clothing and equipment for sports to healthy nutrition - all of this is offered on the e-shop bjp-store.cz, as well as in the Brno store.

In cooperation with the Czech manufacturer ATEX, he also created the ATEX BJP sportswear collection, which is tuned for combat sports. Light sports sweatshirts and rashguards wick away sweat perfectly, while shorts ensure the greatest possible range of motion. In the ATEX BJP collection you will also find stylish women's clothing.

On the occasion of the long-awaited match between Jiří Procházka and Alex Pereira in New York's Madison Square Garden, we present the new ATEX BJP collection, which will complement the original BJP and BJP CHAMP collections. Graphically, the new collection follows on from the previous one, but this time it is characterized by a minimalist design and muted colors.