UFC 311 star Jiri Prochazka has shaved his head to show ‘solidarity’ with a fan who was is going through cancer treatment.
Prochazka used his time at UFC 311’s pre-fight press conference last night to announce that he would be donating $50,000 to Ashly McGarity.
McGarity was diagnosed with cervical cancer in September, and decided to cut her hair like her favourite UFC fighter, as she was losing her hair to chemotherapy.
Prochazka, 32, typically rocks a distinctive ponytail during his MMA bouts, but the hair style had notably disappeared ahead of his fight with Jamahal Hill at UFC 311.
“Hello, everyone. This hair was inspired by Ashly,” Prochazka explained.
“She’s fighting cancer. She will come [to the event on Saturday night], as well as all the oncologist patients.
“This is my way of showing the solidarity because it’s about sending the good energy, you know?”
“Yesterday, I reached one million followers on Instagram, so I will give one million (Czech Koruna) through my foundation to oncologist patients.
“Martial Arts has something to give back. It’s all about the good energy.”
UFC CEO Dana White was touched my Prochazka’s good deed and decided to support the Czech Republic native with an additional donation.
“So what he’s saying is, there’s a little girl that has cancer,” White clarified to the gathered media and fans.
“He’s flying her out here for the fight and he shaved his head like hers to support her.”
White then confirmed how much Prochazka was donating to McGarity before following up with: “I’ll match the $50,000 – so it’s $100,000.”
McGarity is expected to sit cageside for Prochazka’s light-heavyweight fight in California.
Both men coming off losses to current champion Alex Pereira.
Prochazka, formerly of Rizin FF, has 30 pro MMA victories, losing just five and drawing one.
He has finished an incredible 26 of his 30 wins by way of knockout, with 23 of those coming in the first round.
The 32-year-old is a former UFC champion too, having snatched the belt from MMA legend Glover Teixeira in June 2022.
He has since been knocked out twice by UFC lightweight champion Pereira, outside of a win over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300.
Hill, 33, emerged through White’s Contender Series and went on a four-fight win streak in the UFC en route to becoming a UFC champion himself.
At the time, Prochazka had vacated the 205-pounds strap due to a serious shoulder injury, therefore Hill stepped in to fight Teixeira and beat him via unanimous decision after five rounds.
Elsewhere at UFC 311, Islam Makhachev puts his lightweight title on the line for the fourth time as he takes on Arman Tsarukyan.
Both men have already locked horns in the UFC, with Makhachev winning their first fight in 2019 by unanimous decision in what was Tsarukyan’s debut with the promotion.
The co-main event witnesses another title bout as UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili faces Umar Nurmagomedov, who is the cousin of MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Beneil Dariush fights Renato Moiano in a ranked lightweight bout also on the main card, while Kevin Holland challenges Reinier de Ridder.
