Jiri Prochazka says TJ Dillashaw influenced his decision to pull out of UFC 282.
Prochazka was set to headline the card as he was looking to defend his light heavyweight title for the first time in a rematch with Glover Teixeira. Yet, just weeks before the fight, Prochazka suffered a shoulder injury that forced him out of the bout and vacated the belt. Now, he has detailed how the injury happened.
“Everything was light, nobody did something wrong, but I did a mistake,” Prochazka said to The MMA Hour. “I let the guy take my back. He did a suplex right on my shoulder. That was that… The shoulder was out, and one guy, he put me that shoulder back — one of the Russian guys from Ankalaev’s team. And after that, we went to the hospital.”
Although his shoulder was out, Prochazka originally wanted to fight because he thought he would be able to pop his shoulder back in. However, after remembering what happened between TJ Dillashaw and Aljamain Sterling, he didn’t want the fight to be similar to that.
“[I was] still thinking about that I had to go to the fight, because I believe that I can solve it — I can solve the fight [despite my injury],” Prochazka said. “I can end it in the first or second round. To not be there longer than is necessary. But everybody knows the story about T.J. Dillashaw [at UFC 280]. So I want to be professional, and I want to be humble to my team around me, to the UFC, and to my opponent.”
As of right now, Jiri Prochazka is rehabbing his shoulder and the exact timeline of when he returns is uncertain. However, he does expect to be back faster than many think and will be stronger than ever.
“A lot of people are saying it’s necessary to keep it eight, nine months, but I know my body, and I believe I can fix it in three or four months to the full power,” Prochazka said. “There is nothing in my life … where something is not possible. If I take it like a target, I will work on it 24 hours, day and night. Doesn’t matter. I believe there is in mankind, a power that we can use, with all the humility and all the power, just believe it. I will be back as soon as possible, stronger than ever.”
What do you make of how Jiri Prochazka injured his shoulder?