Jiri Prochazka loss: How many defeats does the UFC light heavyweight star have in MMA career?

The Czech-born Jiri Prochazka is one of the best light heavyweights in the UFC right now. This well-known fighter has demonstrated that he is a modern-day samurai, living according to the values of discipline and honor. Even with his extraordinary abilities and accomplishments, Prochazka’s path has not been without difficulties.

In his UFC debut, Prochazka won via knockout in the second round against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 251 in July 2020. In May 2021, he defeated Dominick Reyes via knockout, and then in June 2022, he defeated Glover Teixeira via rear-naked choke submission to claim the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Prochazka became the first Czech national to win the UFC title. His unorthodox fighting style and “weird” training rituals have made him one of the most dangerous and unpredictable fighters in the division. His exciting fighting style has seen him get multiple UFC performance bonus awards.

However, he has not always tasted victory in all of his bouts. Prochazka’s MMA career has seen him participate in 35 professional fights, with 30 victories. He has experienced defeat on four occasions, highlighting the challenging nature of the sport.

Jiri Prochazka’s first and second loss

Early in his career, Jiri Prochazka amassed a 4-0 record. However, this undefeated record would be broken on December 9, 2012. Prochazka lost to Serbian fighter Bojan Velickovic for the first time. The fight ended when Prochazka was TKO’d via Punches by the Serb in the first round of the fight.

Prochazka went on to win the next 2 fights, amassing a record of 6-1. He then encountered the late Abdul-Kerim Edilov on June 20, 2013, at Fight Nights – Battle of Moscow 12. This fight ended with Jiri Prochazka getting submitted by a rear naked choke in the first round, leading to his second loss.

Jiri Prochazka’s third loss

The resilient fighter faced his third defeat on December 31, 2015, against Muhammed Lawal, fighting under ‘Rizin FF’. ‘King Mo’ KO-ed ‘Denisa’. In this bout, Prochazka fell victim to a brutal knockout by Lawal’s powerful right hand. This marked his third loss.

Jiri Prochazka’s fourth loss

After making waves by winning the light heavyweight title in only 3 fights, tragedy struck Prochazka. The newly crowned champion had to vacate his title due to injury. Fortunately, upon his return the Czech fighter was granted a shot at his vacated title when he took on Alex Pereira at UFC 295.

However, the ‘Samurai’ failed in his quest to regain his belt after being knocked out in the 2nd round. Many considered it an early stoppage but the fighter accepted the defeat with grace and did not protest the decision. This was his first loss in the UFC and his fourth in his MMA career.

Jiri Prochazka’s fifth loss

Prochazka took on Alex Pereira in a rematch for the light heavyweight title at UFC 303 after his defeat at UFC 295. This time Prochazka came in more confident, however, Pereira seemed almost untouchable. The Brazilian stood his ground in the first and landed a left right at the end of that round that floored Prochazka.

This definitely shook the Czech fighter who came into the second round a bit dazed. Consequently, ‘Poatan’ capitalized on this and landed a switch kick to Prochazka’s head that ended the fight. As such, this marked the 5th loss of Prochazka’s career.

These setbacks, although different from one another in terms of their circumstances, have taught Prochazka invaluable lessons and strengthened his will to develop and hone his abilities. Despite these losses, he has bounced back stronger, demonstrating his development as a combatant and establishing an almost eight-year winning run.

Jiri Prochazka’s losses and comebacks are indicative of his unyielding spirit and will to achieve in the very competitive mixed martial arts industry. Fans can’t wait to see how this contemporary samurai develops inside the UFC octagon as he gets ready for his next battle.

Related: Jiri Prochazka and Samurai connection: Does the UFC light heavyweight fighter follow Bushido code?