5 stunning Jiri Prochazka finishes outside the UFC

#4. Jiri Prochazka vs. King Mo 2

Jiri Prochazka shared an iconic rivalry with Muhammed Lawal, popularly known as King Mo, during his time in RIZIN FF. Casual and newer fans of the sport may not be aware of who King Mo is, but those in the know are all too familiar with the folklore surrounding this former Strikeforce champion.

Prochazka and Lawal engaged in a two-fight series between 2015 and 2019, with both fights ending with devastating finishes.

The first time the duo locked horns was in the final of the RIZIN World Grand Prix on New Year's Eve, 2015. Prochazka beat Vadim Nemkov to earn his place in the final, while Mo defeated Teodoras Aukstuolis to earn his place opposite 'Denisa'.

Mo battled through adversity and upset the odds in style in the final, knocking out Prochazka a little over five minutes into the bout.

The circumstances were quite different going into their rematch almost four years later. RIZIN FF's inaugural light heavyweight championship was on the line when the duo ran it back in the main event of RIZIN 15, which went down at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Throughout his run in RIZIN FF, as well as on the European regional MMA scene, Jiri Prochazka made it clear that he didn't need very long to dispatch his opponents. As discussed in the introduction of this article, he had a penchant for first-round finishes and rarely ever saw a second or third round.

For only the third time in his professional career, Prochazka was dragged into the third round after showcasing unbelievable toughness in the first two. King Mo had his moments in the opening rounds, but ultimately couldn't keep up with the pace and aggression of 'Denisa', who eventually found the perfect punch to avenge his only loss under the RIZIN FF banner.

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#3. Jiri Prochazka vs. Kazuyuki Fujita

Jiri Prochazka hasn't just competed at light heavyweight over the course of his career. During his stint at RIZIN FF, he regularly fought in openweight and catchweight bouts against fighters who've only ever competed at heavyweight.

At RIZIN 1 in 2016, he took on PRIDE veteran Kazuyuki Fujita in an 110 kg (242 pounds) catchweight matchup. Older generations of MMA fans will be familiar with Fujita, who has fought the likes of PRIDE legend Fedor Emilanenko, as well as former UFC fighters Alistair Overeem, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop and UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman.

The hard-hitting Japanese heavyweight floored Prochazka in the very first minute of their bout and subsequently landed heavy ground-and-pound strikes.

Prochazka managed to gather himself and recover from Fujita's early onslaught. He continued to force his counterpart to backpedal and eventually backed him into a corner.

A little over three minutes into the first round, Prochazka unleashed a quickfire combination of strikes, finishing with a thunderous left hook, which prompted the referee to intervene and call a halt to the action as Fujita came crashing down.