Jiri Prochazka recently shared his thoughts on Jamahal Hill becoming the new light heavyweight champion, and the former divisional champion has not been moved by Hill’s punching power.
‘Sweet Dreams’ successfully capitalized on his title shot due to the Czech fighter relinquishing the UFC light heavyweight title after he suffered a brutal shoulder injury. This forced him to drop out of a planned rematch with Glover Teixeira that was originally scheduled to take place this past December.
Jamahal Hill left no doubt with his performance as he dominated Teixeira through all five rounds on his way to securing 50-44 scorecards across the board to claim the vacant crown. However, in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Jiri Prochazka was asked if there was anything about Jamahal Hill’s performance that stood out, and ‘Denisa’ replied:
“From him, nothing… He spoke about his power. His power of punches and all these things… So Glover showed everybody that Jamahal he doesn’t have so big power in the punches… But more than Jamahal Hill, Glover surprised me because it looked like it was not his night.”
Despite suffering a serious injury in late 2022 and the resulting shoulder surgery, Jiri Prochazka has insisted that he aims to be back in the octagon within the next few months.
Jiri Prochazka provides timeline for possible return in 2023
Former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka was forced to the sidelines after suffering an injury while training for his title defense against Glover Teixeira last December. However, since that was no longer possible, the UFC decided to let a bout between Magomed Ankalaev and Jan Blachowicz decide the fate of the light heavyweight strap.
With the Ankalaev-Blachowicz title fight resulting in a controversial draw, Hill was matched up to face Teixeira, and the 31-year-old rose to the occasion to win the light heavyweight belt.
Prochazka has now revealed a tentative return schedule and clamped down on rumors that he could be out for the rest of the year. In the aforementioned interview, ‘Denisa’ stated:
“I think I can be back in July, August; something like that, six, seven months… I want to be sure that my body works for 200 percent. And I think it can be in summer this year. And just let me work on that. And I will be back as soon as possible.”
Prochazka also suggested that he’d like to be Jamahal Hill’s first title defense and claimed he’s already sharpening his weapons to fight the reigning champion.
Watch the full interview below: