Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jiri Prochazka decided to relinquish the title upon suffering a shoulder injury before a scheduled title defense against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Glover Teixeira at UFC 282.
No timetable has been given yet for the former champion's return, but UFC President Dana White isn’t in a rush to get Prochazka back in the Octagon.
“I’m not pushing him to return,” White said at the UFC Fight Night 218 post-fight press conference (transcript via Farah Hannoun & Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie). “I want him to take as much time as he needs, and I don’t want him to push that shoulder. I don’t want him to feel like there’s a timeline where we need him back. The timeline is as soon as he’s 100 percent healthy. I do not want him to rush or push it.”
Jamahal Hill is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, defeating the aforementioned Teixeira to win the vacant gold at UFC 283.
White also says that Prochazka will get a shot at the light heavyweight gold when he returns to action.
“Yeah, I mean, if he’s ready, but I don’t want him to feel like he needs to be ready to get that fight,” White added. “Whoever has the title when he’s 100 percent healthy, that fight’s waiting for him.”
