Jiri Prochazka confirms UFC 292 title fight with Jamahal Hill is unlikely: ‘August is still too early for me’
Former undisputed light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka has all but ruled himself from a tentatively earmarked UFC 292 title fight with division champion, Jamahal Hill on August 19. in Boston, Massachusetts – confirming the timeline is likely too early for him, as he recovers from shoulder surgery.
Prochazka, the current #1 ranked light heavyweight challenger, has been sidelined from the Octagon since headlining UFC 275 back in June of last year in Singapore, where he captured the undisputed crown with a stunning fifth round rallying rear-naked choke submission win over common-foe, Glover Teixeira.
The Czech Republic native was scheduled to headline UFC 282 in December of last year against Teixeira in a title rematch with the Brazilian, however, was forced from the bout after suffering a catastrophic shoulder injury just weeks out from the fight. Prochazka elected to relinquish his light heavyweight title to boot.
As for Hill, the Illinois native minted himself as the light heavyweight title at the turn of the year in Brazil at UFC 283, defeating common-foe, Teixeira in a one-sided unanimous decision success.
Predicting a victory over Prochazka in an eventual fight, Dana White’s Contender Series product, Hill offered to fight the former as soon as August – at a planned UFC 292 pay-per-view event.
Jiri Prochazka confirms potential UFC 292 title fight is unlikely
However, despite initially outlining a potential August or September comeback, Jiri Prochazka has now revealed August would come too early for him to return to the Octagon.
“August is still early for me because, and I keep saying this, I don’t want to just come there healthy in the cage and go fight right away,” Jiri Prochazka said on the Fair Play Thinker podcast. I want to come into the cage with the fact that I’ve broken down my style and taken a step and I’m a step ahead in my fighting style, my career, my mindset, everything.” (H/T MMA Shorties)
Landing the Octagon back in 2020, Prochazka debuted with a knockout win over Volkan Oezdemir, before taking out multiple-time title challenger, Dominick Reyes with a stunning spinning back elbow KO in the pair’s championship-eliminator.
