JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - MAY 13: Glover Teixeira (R) of Brazil talks with UFC President Dana White (L) after defeating Anthony Smith of the United States in their Light Heavyweight bout during UFC Fight Night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 13, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
UFC President Dana White confirms that Glover Teixeira will fight the winner of Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev
Dana White has confirmed that Glover Teixeira will receive his next title shot, despite declining to face Magomed Ankalaev in UFC 282.
President of the UFC Dana White told ESPN that light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka had relinquished his title due to a severe shoulder injury. On December 10 in Las Vegas, Prochazka (29-3-1) was scheduled to defend his title against Glover Teixeira in the main event of UFC 282. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, he announced his decision to relinquish the title, explaining that he had injured his shoulder while preparing for the Teixeira fight. Prochazka has stated that he will require surgery and be sidelined for at least six months, with a recovery period estimated to exceed a year.
The UFC offered Glover Teixeira a fight against surging contender Magomed Ankalaev for the now-vacant light heavyweight throne, but the Brazilian declined. Teixeira wanted time to prepare for the completely different stylistic matchup, however, the UFC could not hold back the division.
During a recent appearance on Paddy Pimblett’s podcast, Dana White confirmed that Glover Teixeria is next in line for the title despite declining the last-minute offer:
“One hundred percent, yeah. Yeah, I mean the fight [against Ankalaev] was offered to Glover. He didn’t want to take the fight. So, there will probably be two fights before Jiri comes back. So yeah, it’ll be Glover.”
A serious shoulder injury forced UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka to relinquish his title, UFC president Dana White told ESPN. The 30-year-old Prochazka (29-3-1) was supposed to defend his title against the 24-year-old Glover Teixeira at UFC 282 on December 10 in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, he posted to Instagram that he was giving up the title because he had injured his shoulder while training for the Teixeira fight. Prochazka has said he needs surgery and will be out for at least six months, with his estimated time of recovery exceeding a year.
Dana White recently discussed the incident in a podcast with Paddy Pimblett, but few specifics have been made public until now. He claims it occurred while Prochazka’s coaches were attempting a do-it-yourself repair of the injured shoulder in the gym.
“That night when it all went down and we had our doctor look at him, the doctor literally said in all the years at the UFC, this is the worst shoulder injury we’ve ever seen. It’s pretty nasty and him being the f**ing savage that he is, he still wanted to fight. He said, ‘I could do it…’ No. You can’t fight, kid. “What happened was, it popped out and he had some guys there at the gym (who tried to put it back in). And they f—ng ripped the shit out of it and destroyed his shoulder.”
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