Jiri Prochazka eyeing summer return against Jamahal Hill: “I will be back in full power, I will be the champion”
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka is plotting a summer return.
‘Denisa’ has been out of action since his clash with Glover Teixeira at UFC 275 last June. In that headliner in Singapore, the two-light heavyweight contenders put on a show. Trailing on the scorecards heading into the fifth round, Prochazka scored a shocking submission victory.
With that, he became the light-heavyweight champion, but the good times didn’t last long. Prochazka was quickly booked for a rematch with Teixeira for last December but was forced to pull out due to a shoulder injury. The injury was expected to hold the champion out for upwards of a year, leading him to vacate his title.
In his absence, Jamahal Hill claimed the vacant title, defeating Glover Teixeira by unanimous decision in January. Since then, both ‘Sweet Dreams’ and Prochazka have traded callouts, with the champion stating he’d wait until the summer to fight. Any longer than that, and Hill would move on.
As Jiri Prochazka revealed in an interview with the Top Turtle MMA Podcast, he plans to make it to the summer matchup. There, he called his shot, stating that he would capture the light-heavyweight title upon his return.
“I’m working on it,” Prochazka said on the Top Turtle MMA Podcast. “Right now, the main target is to be in full range with that shoulder, to have activated all the muscles around the shoulder, and still building the best conditioning in the game and still work on the movement. I’d like to be [back] this summer or the end of this summer. It doesn’t matter. I will watch how it goes, everything, and by that we can fight maybe earlier or maybe later. But I think this summer is real to be ready and to be the champion.” (h/t MMAJunkie)
“There’s no regrets,” Prochazka continued. “There’s no regrets. I don’t regret nothing. Everything – what I did was necessary, even the injury. Everything has a reason, so I’m good with everything. I’m just happy with how everything went. When I will be back in full power, I will be the champion. I am the champion right now, but I will be on paper the champion and I’m looking forward to the next challenges.”
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