MMA fighter Jiri Prochazka expressed confusion over Jamahal Hill‘s decision to vacate the UFC light heavyweight title due to injury, and is preparing to face Alex Pereira for the now-vacant title.
Jiri Prochazka was surprised to hear that Jamahal Hill was planning to relinquish the UFC light heavyweight title due to an injury. Prochazka himself had been in recovery from a shoulder injury that resulted in him vacating his own belt in December, ahead of a scheduled rematch with Glover Teixeira. The title was claimed by Hill after a victory over Teixeira via unanimous decision at the UFC 283 in January. However, Hill tore his Achilles during a basketball game in the UFC 290 fight week, which consequently dismissed any potential fight plans between Hill and Prochazka.
Reacting to the sidelining of Hill, Prochazka suggests that Hill’s increase in weight after winning the title exacerbates the risk of an injury. He expressed his frustration in an interview with The MMA Hour, stating, “My reaction was, ‘What are you doing, man?’ It doesn’t matter [what the reason was], but everyone I saw, he had big weight, he [gained weight], and especially for the ankles and all of these areas like the knees, for the body, it’s a big weight.”
“If you turn your weight to more than normal, then the knees and ankles, it’s bad. That was the first logical [thought] about that,” Prochazka added. Prior to the unfortunate incident, Hill had publicly challenged Prochazka for a matchup and even suggested that Prochazka was avoiding the fight. Notwithstanding this, Prochazka wished Hill a speedy recovery when he heard the news, highlighting his sportsmanship and focus on the fight instead of pre-match banter.
Currently, Prochazka is preparing to compete against Alex Pereira for the now vacant title in his return bout. He remarked, “Everybody in this game is trying to be gangsters, and it [becomes] getting in the cage with somebody, and [putting on the] best performance you can do. It’s not about the speaking before, this is sometimes — not stupid — but sometimes, it’s trash. I was prepared for the style like Jamahal, and I like that. However, Pereira has a similar, but more advanced, style. There’s more logic in [Pereira’s] style.” When asked to compare Pereira and Hill, Prochazka expressed admiration for both but considered Pereira as the tougher opponent.