UFC 311 star Jiri Prochazka shaves head in ‘solidarity’ with fan in cancer battle
As Ashley McGarity was losing her hair to chemo, she reportedly shaved it to look like her favourite fighter
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Your support makes all the difference.Former UFC champion Jiri Prochazka has shaved his head before his fight with Jamahal Hill to show “solidarity” with a fan battling cancer.
Prochazka, who held the light-heavyweight title in 2022 before vacating the belt due to injury, will face Hill at UFC 311 on Saturday (18 January). Hill is also a former champion, who too relinquished the gold after suffering an injury in 2023.
Revealing a new look at Thursday’s press conference for UFC 311, Prochazka said: “This hair was inspired by Ashley. That girl, she’s fighting with cancer. She will come tomorrow.
“This is me showing solidarity, because it’s about sending good energy. Yesterday, I reached 1m followers on Instagram, so I will give 1m [Czech Koruna] by my foundation to oncologist patients. Martial arts has something to give back, it’s all about good energy.”
Prochazka’s planned donation equals £33,372 or $40,682. Per MMA Fighting, UFC president Dana White will match that donation with his own money.
A UFC statement read: “Ashley McGarity was diagnosed with cervical cancer in September. As she was losing her hair to chemo, she cut it to look like her favorite UFC fighter.
“In solidarity with her fight to defeat cancer, @JirkaProchazka has now shaved his head before his big fight on Saturday at #UFC311.” McGarity is expected to sit cageside at the event, which takes place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Prochazka, the UFC’s first champion from the Czech Republic, enters UFC 311 on the back of two knockout losses to Alex Pereira.
Pereira stopped Prochazka, 32, to win the vacant 205lb title in November 2023, before replicating that result to retain the belt last June.
Hill also enters UFC 311 on the back of a knockout by Pereira. The American, 33, failed to dethrone Brazil’s Pereira in April, in the main event of UFC 300.
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