Jiri Prochazka‘s head coach believes his pupil’s decision to vacate the light heavyweight title represents a “true warrior,” as the Czech-born fighter now begins his rehabilitation.
UFC 282’s main event was set to feature the highly anticipated rematch between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira.
The pair went to war at UFC 275, winning Fight of the Night as ‘Denisa’ stunned the world by submitting the Brazilian in the final seconds of the fifth round.
Unfortunately, just weeks before their rematch, Prochazka announced that he was vacating the title due to a serious shoulder injury he suffered whilst training. Dana White described the injury as one of the worst the UFC doctors have seen and the former champ is now facing at least six months out.
Jiri Prochazka’s head coach, Martin Karaivanov, recently sat down with The AllStar and discussed Prochazka’s decision to vacate the title. While some have questioned the UFC’s decision not to make an interim title fight during the former champion’s absence, his coach Karaivanov explained that the 30-year-old refused to hold up the 205lbs division:
“We had some meeting with the UFC and we made some deal about the title. Jiri said that he will release the title because the light heavyweight division must go on. This was a true warrior decision… He was very disappointed and wanted the fight, but we as coaches, we are older and experienced, there’s no way to fight [with the injury he sustained].”
Watch the full interview here:
Glover Teixeira reveals why he was left out of title fight after Jiri Prochazka’s injury
UFC 282’s card was forced into a reshuffle after the unfortunate news of Jiri Prochazka’s shoulder injury. Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev is now the featured main event and the pair are set to face each other for the vacant light heavyweight title.
Fans were left surprised that Glover Teixeira was left entirely off the card, considering he was originally set for the main event. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, the Brazilian explained why he is no longer competing at UFC 282:
“They said, ‘Do you want to fight December 10th?’ I said, ‘Yeah, fight Jan [Blachowicz] December 10th.’ They said, ‘What about [Magomed] Ankalaev?’ I said, ‘I’ll fight him in Brazil because [of] the style.’ That was it in my conversation. Thirty minutes later, not even, I saw the news on Instagram that Jan and Ankalaev are going to fight.”
The 43-year-old added:
“It is what it is, man, it is what it is. If you can’t do nothing about it, you just gotta rise above it, keep training, keep focused on the goal, and stay positive. That’s my mentality… I said I’ll fight Jan, because Jan is the No.2 contender. I was No.1 then Jan and then Ankalaev. I said, ‘Okay, you want me to fight him then I’ll fight him in Brazil.’
Catch the full interview here: