Jiri Prochazka’s decision to pull out of UFC 282 had influence from TJ Dillashaw, and the fighter himself details how so.
‘BJP’ was all set to make his first title defense in the main event of UFC 282- in a rematch against Glover Teixeira, whom Prochazka had defeated at UFC 275 to earn the Light Heavyweight belt.
Unfortunately, just weeks before the fight, Prochazka sustained a horrible shoulder injury, which forced him out of the fight, and he even vacated the 205-pound belt, ahead of a lengthy recovery period before he’s able to back in the cage again.
Jiri Prochazka still wanted to fight, but remembered Dillashaw
While speaking on The MMA Hour, Prochazka not only detailed how he suffered his shoulder injury, but also revealed that the incident between TJ Dillashaw and Aljamain Sterling had influenced him. At UFC 280, Dillashaw had carried a shoulder injury into the title fight against Bantamweight champ Sterling.
“Everything was light, nobody did something wrong, but I did a mistake. 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,” said Prochazka.
“[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],” he went on, “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.”
“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. 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,” added Prochazka.
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