Jan Blachowicz of Poland reacts after defeating Luke Rockhold of the United States during their UFC 239 Light Heavyweight bout at T-Mobile Arena on July 06, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Jan Blachowicz is confident going into the short-notice fight against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 282
Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka had vacated his title due to a serious shoulder injury. At UFC 282 on December 10 in Las Vegas, Prochazka (29-3-1), age 30, was set to defend his title against Glover Teixeira.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, he explained that he had hurt his shoulder while training for the Teixeira fight, and thus had to give up the title. According to Prochazka, he needs surgery and will be out for at least six months, and it will take him well over a year to recover.
According to reports by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, Jan Blachowicz was completely unaware of the main event bump because he was in mid-air when the whole event transpired.
UFC 282 will now be headlined by a clash between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev. The Polish MMA star released a statement following the crazy turn of events. He also tipped his hat to Jiri Prochazka who was a class act for not stagnating the division:
“That was the craziest several hours ever. I left Warsaw to take part in the eliminator match, and a few hours later I’ve arrived as a title challenger. I’m ready. Keep fingers crossed.
@jiri_bjp huge respect for your conduct! Get well! #UFC282″
Speaking in a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Blachowicz claimed that the chain of events and last-minute switch to a five-round fight against Ankalaev favors him:
“If the fight goes longer, I feel better. So I’m happy with that because that was the big concern. For me, the worst thing was that I’m going to have three rounds. I don’t remember when I fought three rounds last time. When I started training for battle again, a three-round fight that was worse for me because I start to do a very good job in the third round. So I need to wake up a little bit earlier, change everything, so five rounds is better for me.”
The UFC offered Glover Teixeria 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.
Speaking with ESPN, Teixeira further shed light on the decision:
“I told them I needed more time for this guy, that he has a different style. The guy is a southpaw. I said, ‘What about fighting him in Brazil’ (at UFC 283)? They denied that and said they needed someone to fight in Vegas. I said, ‘OK, I’ll fight Jan in Vegas. If you’re going to throw me off, Jan has a regular stance. Ankalaev is a totally different game. I need more time.”
Furthermore, he added: “I think I’ll fight the winner of the two, because I’m still the No. 1 contender. But they can take anybody they want. They can take someone not even ranked to fight for the title, because it’s their company.”
Watch the first fight between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka below:
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