There no longer is a champion in the UFC light heavyweight division after Jamahal Hill suffered a serious injury.
Hill (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) announced Friday he will give up the 205-pound belt after he sustained a ruptured Achilles tendon that will require surgery. As as result, the title now is vacant.
“Everyone knows that I’ve been waiting for months now to face Jiri Prochazka and defend my belt and my title – unfortunately we’re going to have to wait a little bit,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “I’ve ruptured my Achilles. … It’s just one of those things that happens. It’s one that will require surgery and time and rehab and things to be out for a while. Also, with that, I was given an opportunity. I was given an opportunity. Jiri Prochazka was the champion. He suffered an injury, as these things happen and he had to – he gave up the belt and allowed for others to not hold the division up, to keep the division moving forward to make sure the people had a champion. I’ll do the same.
“Right now, the biggest thing is focusing on my recovery, focusing on getting back to 100 percent. I need to take some time and focus on my health and make sure that I’m 100 and make sure I’m the fighter that everyone knows I am. In order to do that, I need to focus on getting ready and rehabbing.”
Hill, 32, who won the gold in January with a lopsided unanimous decision win over Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 in Brazil, said he wishes he could have retained the strap for the duration of his recovery, but he understands the situation.
He thanked the UFC brass for its support through the process, and said he’s been assured he will get an opportunity to fight for the title again once healthy.
“On my road to recovery, I’ve been promised that I will fight for my title immediately as soon as I am able, as well as the other things that come with that,” Hill said. “Yeah, man – it’s just part of the story.”
According to MMAFighting.com, Hill suffered the injury during a basketball game with UFC and MMA fighters during UFC 290 fight week in Las Vegas.
The UFC has not commented on the news, nor has the promotion made any plans for the next light heavyweight title fight. However, former champ Jiri Prochazka suggested the possibility of facing the winner of Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira, who meet in the UFC 291 co-main event on July 29 in Salt Lake City (via Twitter):
Jiri Prochazka reacts to Jamahal Hill's injury and ponders who he should fight for vacant UFC gold.
Full story: https://t.co/jfrKP0sTN8 pic.twitter.com/jIqhqae9Ok
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) July 14, 2023
It’s the fourth time in the past five years the title in the weight class has been vacant. Daniel Cormier vacated in 2018 to commit to fighting at heavyweight. Jon Jones did the same in August 2020. In November, Jiri Prochazka gave up the belt after he suffered a shoulder injury.