Some would describe former UFC light heavyweight champ Jiri Prochazka as an odd duck. His fighting style, of course, is based upon wild and dynamic striking and he fights more on vibes and instinct than with any technique or real gameplan. But the former champ’s uniqueness goes much further than his fighting style.

Influenced heavily by the Japanese Samurai code of Bushido, Prochazka’s training methods and philosophy about fighting are based upon the principles found in Miyamoto Musashi’s ‘Book of Five Rings’. A deeply spiritual man, ‘The Czech Samurai’ is known to go to the remote forests of his native Czech Republic to train. However, none of these come close to his practice of sensory deprivation to strengthen his mind.

“That’s all in darkness for three days, and there you can work with your demons and train what you want… It’s much more strong when you’re without food. All the processes in your body is much stronger. Your mind’s working a lot, and you have to die here first,” Prochazka said on ‘The MMA Hour’ three years ago.

Prochazka, of course, is set to fight another former champion Jamahal Hill at UFC 311 this Saturday. It is unknown if he has used this sensory deprivation for this fight, but Prochazka, it is a good bet that he has. However, fans are unconvinced about the efficacy of ‘The Czech Samurai’s strengths.

Fans react to Jiri Prochazka’s no-food sensory deprivation practice

One fan pointed out that despite the length Prochazka goes to prepare for fights, this routine didn’t help him at all in his two title fights against Alex Pereira, both of which he Czech lost via stoppages: “This was before the Alex fight. And it still DIDNT WORK OUT FOR HIM !” Another fan was not surprised that ‘BJP’ went to these lengths to prepare for fights given his fondness for minimalistic training equipment and his unconventional approach to preparing for fights: “Least autistic jiri training camp”

Top Comment by Donald Abell

I think it’s similar to believing in ghosts. He’s on the fence of being a kook. He could make more...more

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Debate

One of the most criticized parts of Prochazka’s game, of course, is his lackluster defense, which proved lethal in his two clashes against the Brazilian. And one fan took a humorous shot at this deficiency by sarcastically asking: “I wonder if the darkness taught him anything about defense?” Whether Prochazka’s proclivity to train outside the gym for his fights hurts him or helps him is a hotly debated topic among fight fans.

But one fan made clear where they stood on the subject with another sarcastic comment: “He be doing everything but fight training”. Unsurprisingly, there was more than one shot fired at Prochazka’s defensive deficiencies as another fan ridiculed the former 205lbs champ’s tendency to keep his chin up and hands down during fights: “still doesn’t keep his damn hands up”

Needless to say, going three days without any food must take a toll on Prochazka as one fan pointed out, who placed the blame for his two knockout losses to Alex Pereira on shenanigans like these: “This why he keeps getting knocked out he need that nutrition 😂”. What do you think about Jiri Prochazka’s three-day fast in a dark room to strengthen his mind?