"Protect Jiří at all costs" - Fans react to footage of Jiří Procházka doing "slow, technical shadowboxing" with tree after Jamahal Hill win
Jiří Procházka is back to sharpening his skills after TKO'ing Jamahal Hill at UFC 311, as he shared a clip in which he can be seen not just shadowboxing, but testing out his footwork and movements. Most noticeably, Procházka's movements were slower and more deliberate, as he seeks to practice the biomechanical flow of his strikes.
He shared the clip on Instagram and in the caption, wrote:
"Slow technical shadowboxing / But in the Flow"
Procházka is a well-known proponent of traditional martial arts and has often expressed his respect and admiration for the various martial arts. This, combined with his occasionally unorthodox appearance and unique personality, has led many fans to embrace him as one of their favorite fighters on the UFC roster.
This sentiment was evident in the comments section of his Instagram post, which featured near-universal praise for his shadowboxing. One fan even called for a trilogy bout with Alex Pereira, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion who has beaten Procházka twice.
One user wrote:
"Anyone else feel like Jiří been absorbring a lot of Alex's movements? The final rematch will be epic"
Others praised him for his appreciation for Bushido culture. One fan added:
"The last samurai on Earth, protect Jiří at all costs."
One user even went as far as proclaiming Procházka the world's best fighter, as they wrote:
"Best MMA fighter of the world"
A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:
Procházka has been determined to face Pereira again, who has been his lone obstacle to dominance at light heavyweight, where he had a short stint as champion before being sidelined by injury.
Only one fighter has beaten Jiří Procházka in the UFC
The effectiveness of Jiří Procházka's skills is such that he has only ever lost to one fighter in his UFC run thus far. Alex Pereira has beaten him twice, knocking him out at UFC 295 and then again at UFC 303 in more dominant fashion. However, everyone else has fallen to the Czech samurai inside the UFC octagon.
In fact, everyone else has been finished by him, including former light heavyweight champions Jamahal Hill and Glover Teixeira. Others who tasted defeat at his hands include Dominick Reyes, Volkan Oezdemir and Aleksandar Rakić.