Jiri Prochazka had to vacate the UFC Light-heavyweight title recently after suffering a severe shoulder injury in training, and he’s now spoken out about exactly how it happened.
First off, the 30-year-old Prochazka has speculated that his shoulder already had an issue before the accident actually occurred.
“My last fight, I felt like the right shoulder, I had a lot of pain with that, and I think there was something broken before that, so that’s why I think we just finished with that shoulder what was started,” Prochazka said on The MMA Hour show.
Then, while preparing for a rematch against Glover Teixeira at UFC 282 disaster struck during a regular training session.
“Everything was light, nobody did something wrong, but I did a mistake,” Prochazka said. “I let the guy take my back. He did a suplex right on my shoulder. That was that.”
To make matters worse, Prochazka says that a teammate of fellow light-heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev tried to help put his shoulder back in place, but only succeeded in worsening the injury.
“The shoulder was out, and one guy, he put me that shoulder back — one of the Russian guys from Ankalaev’s team,” Prochazka said. “And after that, we went to the hospital.”
Prochazka refused to lay the blame at the hands of that teammate however, insisting it was his own fault, though in a separate interview recently, Dana White had a different viewpoint, claiming that the person had, “ripped the shit out of it and destroyed” his shoulder.
At the time White also claimed it was the worst shoulder injury the UFC’s medical team had seen and that it was likely that Prochazka would be out of action for a long period of time, though he himself still believes he can exceed everyone’s expectations for his recovery.
“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.”
With Prochazka out, the aforementioned Magomed Ankalaev went on to fight Jan Blachowicz for his vacated 205lb title instead at UFC 282 earlier this month, but the fight ended in a controversial split-draw, meaning that the belt remains up for grabs, with a new pairing of Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill now set to challenge for it at UFC 283 in January.
