Jiri Prochazka has vacated the UFC light heavyweight championship and will not be competing at UFC 282.
Following a report from Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, the UFC has confirmed that the championship rematch between Prochazka and Glover Teixeira is off the December 10th pay-per-view due to an injury to Prochazka.
In its place, former champion Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev will fight for the vacant championship with no update regarding Teixeira’s status.
The UFC issued a statement confirming the change and noting that “Out of respect to the athletes and the division, Prochazka has elected to vacate the title and will compete for the belt as soon as he is medically cleared.”
Jiri Prochazka is out of UFC 282 due to a severe orthopedic injury. Timeframe for recovery is upwards of a year. According to UFC and Jiri's representatives, it was his decision to vacate the belt out of respect for other contenders. Jiri's injury first reported by @KevinI.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 23, 2022
Kevin Iole reports that it is a right shoulder injury that Prochazka is dealing with. UFC president Dana White gave the following statement to Yahoo Sports:
This is the worst shoulder injury the doctors have seen in UFC history. It’s really f—-ing bad. His shoulder is very, very bad. He’s going to have serious surgery that will require extensive rehab.
Blachowicz and Ankalaev were already scheduled to fight on the December 10th card and will now serve as the new main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
