Jiri Prochazka’s wild MMA journey from football ultra to replacing Conor McGregor in UFC 303 main event
Jiri Prochazka's route to the top has been unorthodox, to say the least.
As a teenager, the Czech Republican MMA star was a self-professed 'wild guy', who got involved in over 100 street fights.
Like many disaffected young men in his area, this led to him joining the ultra group for his local football team, FC Zbrojovka Brno.
While marching with the ultras he took part in organised brawls, including a violent 30 on 30 scrap.
But he left his deviant lifestyle behind him when he began training in martial arts at 17.
"I'm another person now," Prochazka told when speaking about his wild past.
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"I'm happy for this journey and life is about learning and practicing to do better.
"It is a way of mastery. But it is not just a way of mastery in martial arts but in life."
Prochazka eventually transitioned to MMA and made his professional debut in 2012.
In his first three years in the paid ranks, Prochazka amassed a 14-2-1 record before he was given his first big break with Japanese promotion, RIZIN.
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Prochazka's first assignment was the RIZIN World Grand Prix 100kg tournament in 2015.
He knocked out Olympic gold medallist judoka Satoshi Ishii in his first bout on the Tuesday before returning to the ring two days later to partake in his semi-final and final bouts.
Prochazka won his semi-final against Vadim Nemkov via first-round TKO but was knocked out by Muhammad Lawal in the opening stanza of the tournament finale later that same night.
It would be the last time in seven years that Prochazka would fall to defeat.
Following the setback, he put together an impressive 10-fight unbeaten run - including a stoppage win over Lawal for the inaugural RIZIN light-heavyweight title in 2019.
This victory caught the UFC's attention, who snapped him up on a multi-fight contract a year later.
Stoppages of Volkan Oezdemir and Dominik Reyes followed before he was thrust into a UFC light-heavyweight title fight against Glover Teixeira in only his third outing with the promotion.
Prochazka - who made a name for himself by scoring wild knockouts on the feet - proved he was the full package by submitting Teixeira with a rear-naked choke to become the Czech Republic's first UFC champion.
However, just five months later he would be stripped of the title when he was forced out of his first defence of the title - a rematch with Teixeira at UFC 282 - due to an injury to his right shoulder.
Prochazka would return to action in November 2023 to compete for the vacant crown against Alex Pereira but was stopped in the second round after eating several clean elbows to the side of his head.
Referee Marc Goddard opted to step in and wave off the contest when Prochazka fell flat on his back.
But UFC commentators Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier thought the stoppage was a little premature, as did many MMA fans.
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Prochazka bounced back with a second-round stoppage win over Aleksandar Rakic and has now been handed the opportunity to exact his revenge on Pereira after their rematch was booked as a makeshift main event at UFC 303 following Conor McGregor's withdrawal.
The pair square off for Pereira's UFC light heavyweight title on Saturday night in a fight that is sure to produce fireworks.