If everything goes according to plan at UFC 267 on October 30th, Glover Teixeira will fight Jan Blachowicz for the UFC light heavyweight title on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. But if something happens to go sideways, the promotion has a back-up ready in #2 ranked 205er Jiri Prochazka.
Prochazka is taking his role as back-up very seriously, and hasn’t just cut weight in preparation for October 30th. He’s also gone to the salon and gotten his ‘war hair’ on, and it’s a pretty elaborate look.
Jiri debuted his war hair back in April of 2021 for his UFC Vegas 25 main event against Dominick Reyes (watch the spectacular highlights here). And while he’s not the first or last fighter to get all did up for a bout, his wild fighting topknot definitely helps him stand out from the pack. Maybe helps him fight better, too? After beating Reyes up so bad “The Devastator” decided to take a year off to rest his brain, Jiri proclaimed his ‘antennae’ was integral to channeling his fight powers.
“That was just a flow, and that’s why I have this antenna – to catch these ideas,” he said during the post fight-press conference. “I was motivated by the Muay Thai warriors. I like this stuff. I say that, it’s war hair. It’s how I am taking this moment, this fight, importantly and seriously. This is the hair just for this moment.”
We can only imagine Prochazka sitting in Abu Dhabi, sending out vibes to the universe with his antenna that something happen to the UFC 267 main event and he gets to step in against Jan Blachowicz to compete for the title. But hey, if it doesn’t, at least he’ll look glorious sitting cageside watching the fights.