Jiri Prochazka isn’t any stranger to distinctive coaching strategies to prepare or keep prepared for a battle, however practically drowning whereas trapped underneath ice is unquestionably a brand new one.
As he prepares to face Khalil Rountree Jr. in a possible No. 1 contender’s bout on Saturday at UFC 320, the previous gentle heavyweight champion detailed his current expertise swimming underwater — beneath a large sheet of ice — and the way it supplied him a brand new perspective on preventing. Whereas your complete ordeal was supervised and completed with security precautions in place, Prochazka admitted it was a terrifying but exhilarating expertise.
“When the provide got here, I mentioned to myself, ‘Why?’ Why? As a result of I need to. Simply I needed to,” Prochazka mentioned about swimming underneath ice throughout UFC 320 media day. “I got here there, after which I spotted, f*ck, you’ll be able to die there. You’ll be able to simply die there. As a result of after I first go down underneath the water, and I simply watched underneath the ice, simply to know the atmosphere, the way it appears underneath the ice, man, that was scary. No gentle, nothing.
“I mentioned to myself, you’ll be able to’t try this simply since you need. You actually must need that out of your coronary heart to do this, to be achieved in that. As a result of this isn’t a recreation. I took it like that. Actually like a battle, simply I’ll win or nothing. I needed to be achieved in that as a result of I don’t need to keep underneath the ice someplace.”
Prochazka admitted that the entire expertise was humbling, but it surely spoke to him, particularly understanding the life-or-death conditions that fighters take care of each time they step into the cage to do battle.
“Perhaps that’s why I’m preventing,” Prochazka defined. “Since you are touching on a regular basis this essence of loss, of dying, to lose the whole lot. Whenever you’re giving the whole lot in coaching, in all places, that’s the purpose of life. I need to stay a uncommon life. To really feel myself, I’m alive.
“All these factors, climbing the mountains, coaching in nature, all these items, meditation, it helps me to enhance all of my skills to be a greater fighter.”
Along with swimming underneath ice, Prochazka additionally added one other new coaching method to his camp, the place he ran sprints with out truly respiratory.
Now that’s one thing he’s seen different UFC fighters make use of, and Prochazka was excited to see how that type of endurance train would finally repay in his battle profession.
“The sprints with out respiratory, it’s the oxygen benefit methodology with one among my coaches from the Czech Republic,” Prochazka mentioned. “We began to work on that like two and a half years again. I believe one of many guys who confirmed that to the world that it labored was Israel Adesanya.
“It really works on your tolerance for carbon dioxide. So you might have extra endurance, extra energy. We’ve got to work with our breath, with our energy, dynamics of all these skills of our our bodies, so the final one and the primary one is the psychological energy.”
Outdoors of his distinctive and generally unorthodox strategies to arrange for his fights, Prochazka additionally not too long ago achieved one thing else when he obtained his Grasp’s diploma in school.
Prochazka beforehand famous how necessary training was for him, and now he can stand proud that he earned that diploma.
“What can I say? For one month, I completely modified my life. Completely,” Prochazka mentioned in regards to the dedication he confirmed to get his Grasp’s diploma. “For the others, it doesn’t matter what you’re studying, if it’s school or college or highschool, simply try this.
“For fighters, it’s way more helpful as a result of we now have to work with our heads, as a result of the punches first and the second is the technique and the techniques within the battle.”
From swimming underneath ice to sprints with out respiratory and even incomes a prestigious school diploma, Prochazka makes use of the whole lot in service of his battle profession, which kicks again into excessive gear on Saturday.
He faces Rountree in a battle between two of the most effective gentle heavyweights within the sport, and Prochazka guarantees he’s prepared for the problem forward of him.
Prochakza could have so much occurring exterior the cage, however when it comes time to battle, he’s placing the whole lot into successful.
“I don’t underestimate anyone, particularly Khalil Rountree,” Prochazka mentioned. “He has actually good, dynamic begins, good kicks, mixtures, and that is the place all my preparation, I realized now to bop with this type and know learn how to play with that.”
