Jiri Prochazka has his hands up. That’s the headline from the new sparring footage the former UFC light heavyweight champion posted this week, and he’s crediting coach Danny De Vries with breaking the old habits that have followed him around for years.
Prochazka headlines UFC Qatar on November 21 against Navajo Stirling, and he’s spending this camp in Thailand. MiddleEasy reported that Prochazka described De Vries’s role in those Thailand preparations, framing the coach as the guy cleaning up habits that have cost him before.
The sparring partner is the eye-catcher. Bloody Elbow reported that Prochazka welcomed Artem Vakhitov into camp. Vakhitov is one of the better-known kickboxers on the planet, and he fought Alex Pereira twice in that sport, winning one of them. He’s become a popular hire for people with light heavyweight problems. Ciryl Gane brought him in earlier this year while preparing for Pereira at UFC Freedom 250.
Prochazka posted the clip on X with his usual sunny weirdness, writing “5th week here in this heat. So, just Smile and continue ⚡️” and pointing fans toward a blog interview he’d done the day before.
Why the hands matter
Prochazka’s training methods have taken heat for a long time. He’s famous for disappearing into the woods to prepare for fights, which makes for a great documentary and a confusing fight camp. The bigger knock has been on the feet. His striking is wild and creative, and his defense has often looked optional.
So fans noticed. “Do I see Jiri with his hands up?” one commenter wrote under the footage. Another said, “Jiri working on keeping his hands up is a positive move.” A third went further: “Hands up Jiri. Navajo can count his final days.”
The timing makes sense. Prochazka, now 34, hasn’t fought since April, when he met Carlos Ulberg for the vacant light heavyweight title and got knocked out in the first round. It was a shocking result, and the kind of loss that makes a guy reconsider how he walks into the pocket.
The road back
Stirling is the rising name here, a contender ranked below Prochazka, and the matchup carries all the risk for the Czech. Bloody Elbow noted the UFC announced the fight before Prochazka had signed his contract, a move that has become a habit for the promotion. Prochazka took it anyway.
Even a win may not be enough. Bloody Elbow suggested Prochazka could need another victory after Stirling before he gets back into a title fight. That’s a long way back for a guy who held the belt.
My take: I’ll believe in the new defensive Jiri when I see it at 2:30 of Round 1 with somebody actually trying to take his head off. Sparring footage is a highlight reel by design. Still, bringing in a man who has beaten Pereira and a coach willing to tell Prochazka to stop doing Prochazka things is the most serious this guy has looked about fixing his flaws in years. If the hands stay up in Qatar on November 21, Stirling has a real problem.
