UFC light-heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill has been waiting on Jiri Prochazka returning so that he can make his first title defense against him, but it seems his patience has now run out and he’s calling for a fight against another leading contender instead.
“Man, I heard the same thing y’all heard,” Hill told The Schmo when asked about how long it’ll be before Prochazka is ready to fight. “‘It’s summer time,’ but still where you at, though? Where you at, though? I mean, I haven’t heard anything. I’ve been waiting for the call. I’ve been ready to go.
“At this point, I don’t care. It’s the next man up now. Whoever peaks their head out first, whoever separates themselves from the pack, whoever solidifies themselves as No. 1 contender, whoever they send. It is what it is, bro. Send whoever, just give me a name. I don’t care who it is.”
Prochazka was of course briefly the titleholder last year after beating Glover Teixeira before having to vacate the belt prior to their rematch due to a serious shoulder injury. At the time there was talk that the damage was extensive enough that it could keep him out for a year, but Prochazka continues to vow that he’ll be back long before then.
“Today marks exactly one year since winning the UFC title,” Prochazka wrote on June 12th. “Since then, I have changed many things in my life, but the Path and Passion to be a true Champion and Master of the field has burned much brighter in me. In a few months I’ll take the title clean and clear. THERE WILL BE A FIGHT, AND THE FIGHT IS A JOY!!!!”
while Prochazka seems confident about it, Hill is decidedly less certain of when he’ll given the chance to defend his belt.
“Bro, I don’t [know]. Hopefully it’s somewhere in September or October. I really, really, really wouldn’t want to wait until those times, which now I really don’t have much of a choice. I really don’t want to wait past that. I wanted to fight at least two more times this year as champion. It’s not my timetable. I’m working off other people’s schedule right now, but I’m ready to go. I’m ready to fight.”
