Jiri Prochazka has broken his silence in the wake of a devastating shoulder injury that ultimately led him to vacate the UFC light heavyweight title.
In a statement first posted to Instagram, Prochazka revealed that he suffered the injury in the final days of his training camp as he prepared to face Glover Teixeira in the UFC 282 main event.
Prochazka must have surgery to repair the injury. This will make him inactive for several months.
“I am very disappointed to announce that I will not be defending my belt at UFC 282,” Prochazka wrote. “I was injured in training in Las Vegas while finishing my preparation for my title defense in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. Surgery is necessary due to injury to my shoulder. I will be out of commission for six months.
“After reviewing this information, my decision was to not keep [up] in the light heavyweight division. I am vacating the title .”
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With Prochazka out, Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev now meet in the new UFC 282 main event with the vacant, undisputed light heavyweight title up for grabs.
Blachowicz and Ankalaev were already scheduled to meet on the card. Yahoo! reported that Dana White, President of UFC, said so. Sports that Teixeira declined to fight a new opponent with Prochazka out; Ariel Helwani reported the Brazilian ex-champ was offered a title fight with Ankalaev and requested a later date to prepare better; the UFC declined and instead booked Ankalaev vs. Blachowicz for the vacant belt.
Prochazka defeated Teixeira by fifth-round submission to claim the title at UFC 275 in June. The 30-year-old fighter from the Czech Republic promised he will return from shoulder surgery to battle for the UFC light heavyweight title in his first fight back.
“I will go for the UFC belt as soon as the doctors give me the green light to fight,” Prochazka wrote. Prochazka wrote, “I will go for the belt. It doesn’t matter who holds it. It’s always been the most important thing for me to put on the best performance and compare myself to the best. Let the best show no matter who’s there now.
” I will be back in six month and take over the title from whoever is holding it. It means so much to me to apologize to all my friends and family, who purchased tickets to Las Vegas for me. I also want to apologize to Glover. Victory!”
Although Prochazka stated his intention to be back in six months’ time, it is possible that Prochazka’s shoulder injury will keep him out of work for a while longer. However, he won’t know until his operation.
For now, Prochazka will have to watch from the sidelines while Blachowicz and Ankalaev face off for the UFC’s 205-pound title on Dec. 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/11/23/23475995/jiri-prochazka-issues-statement-suffering-injury-forced-him-to-vacate-ufc-light-heavyweight-title?rand=96749
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