Ex-UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Jiri Prochazka Gives Comeback Update

Getty Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira

Former UFC 205-pound king Jiri Prochazka is nearing his Octagon return, and he hopes to make his comeback at the “end of summer.”

“Denisa” earned the belt last year when he caught Glover Teixeira with a fight-ending rear-naked choke in a “Fight of the Year” candidate at UFC 275. However, Prochazka was forced to vacate the belt ahead of his first title defense — a rematch scheduled with Teixeira for December at UFC 282.

Prochazka hurt his shoulder and decided to walk away from the championship to focus on his recovery.

“This is the worst shoulder injury the doctors have seen in UFC history,” UFC president Dana White told Yahoo Sports at the time. “It’s really f****** bad. His shoulder is very, very bad. He’s going to have serious surgery that will require extensive rehab.”

Prochazka Said the Shoulder Is ‘Great,’ Eyeing September as Possible Return Date

Denisa recently spoke with Low Kick MMA and gave a promising update. In short, the Czech mixed martial artist hopes to return in a few months. And he wants to regain his strap in his comeback.

“The shoulder’s great,” Prochazka said while moving his arms and shoulders. “I’m working on that every day. Last month we did amazing work and that’s why I’m so happy for that. Everything is going smoothly and everything is going step by step to be back in the end of the summer.”

“I wanted to be back in six months but after the surgery… the shoulder is not so easy to rehab because there are many angles, many things to work on. I think it will not be in six months because I don’t want to be just healthy and fight. I want to be on the next level. And right now I need something like one or two months to be in full power for training. And then I can start some improvements, some upgrades to my style – to push it to the next level.”

Prochazka then threw September out as a potential suitable month for his Octagon return. “I don’t want to speak about that,” Denisa said in regard to giving an exact timeframe. “I want to practice and I will see after one month how it will be.”

Prochazka Is Targeting a Title Fight With Jamahal Hill Upon His Return

The former UFC light heavyweight champion was then asked if he’d have the opportunity in his return fight to reclaim the belt he never lost inside the cage. Jamahal Hill is the current divisional champion. He earned Prochazka’s vacant strap in January after besting Teixeira via unanimous decision at UFC 283.

“Yep,” Prochazka answered.”

“Very easy,” Denisa then said when asked how he matches up with Hill. “He has a lot of things which he has strong. And some things which he has very big weak points. So, I’ll be focused on both, for everything.

“He spoke about me a lot and all this stuff. He’s thinking he knows what is the key to win. But, doesn’t matter. I don’t want to speak about that a lot, but I think I know how is his thinking about me. But, I’m changing from fight to fight. I’m changing all my body, all my mind — everything around me, every time… to evolve from fight to fight. That’s all.

“That’s why I was the champion and that’s why I will be.”