How Was Jiri Prochazka Injured? What Surgery Did the Ex-UFC Champ Undergo?

Jiri Prochazka entered the UFC with a bang in 2020. The Czech fighter registered phenomenal victories against top UFC light heavyweights in his first two fights. His performances were good enough to convince the UFC matchmakers to give him a title shot. Ultimately, at UFC 251, Prochazka defeated Glover Teixeira to win the light heavyweight title.

However, all things did not go as planned. While Prochazka’s title win gave fans the hope of seeing him defend the belt many times, it did not happen. Unfortunately, ‘Denisa’ had to relinquish his title because of a terrible injury. Here is all we know about that incident.

What injury did Jiri Prochazka get?

‘The Czech Samurai’ made headlines in the MMA world after defeating the legendary Glover Teixeira at UFC 275 in a back-and-forth bloodbath. He won the UFC light heavyweight title in the process in only his third fight in Dana White’s promotion. Considering how close the Fight of the Year 2022 was, a rematch was the obvious choice.

While in preparation for his second meeting with Teixeira, Prochazka picked up a serious shoulder injury. The news made waves at the time due to the supposed seriousness of the mishap. Even UFC CEO Dana White at the time termed it the worst shoulder injury the UFC doctors had seen.

Jiri Prochazka later vacated the light heavyweight title and mentioned that he had to undergo surgery. Furthermore, he also indicated that he will be out for at least six months, which could extend up to a year. His manager, Tim Simpson, even spoke to ESPN and mentioned that the Czech fighter decided to vacate the title. “It was actually Jiri’s decision”, said Simpson. He further elaborated on how ‘Denisa’ came to that decision.

He added that Prochazka knew he’d be out for some time, and as such, decided to let the division move on and be fair to other fighters. Simpson added, “He has a Samurai way of life, and once he knew how long he would be out, he said, ‘I must respect the other fighters and let them fight for the belt.’” 

The former champion himself would later go on ‘The MMA Hour’ by Ariel Helwani and explain the circumstances under which he picked up the injury.

Prochazka injured his shoulder after getting hit with a suplex

After vacating the title, Jiri Prochazka made an appearance in an interview with Ariel Helwani. He opened up on how the injury took place, which he did not necessarily blame anyone for. He said, “It was a sparring session, but everything was light. Nobody did something wrong. But I just did some mistake.”

Prochazka was sparring with one of his partners when he accidentally let him take his back. That was followed by a suplex attempt from his sparring partner that led him to land awkwardly on his shoulder. Consequentially, he popped his shoulder and then he headed to the hospital. “I let the guy to take my back and he just throw me for the suplex right to the shoulder. And that was that,” said the 31-year-old.

‘The Czech Samurai’ is now back at his 100 percent. He’s fighting for the title against this time in the main event and it remains to be seen if he can overcome Alex Pereira at UFC 303 for a second time to become a two-time light heavyweight champion or if the Brazilian retains his standing in the division. We will have to wait and see how things unfold on June 29.

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