Jiri Prochazka VACATES Title, Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev New UFC 282 Main Event For Vacant Championship

Jiri Prochazka VACATES Title, Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev New UFC 282 Main Event For Vacant Championship

Abdullah Ouazri|
November 23, 2022|
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Per Kevin Iole, Jiri Prochazka has sustained a severe long-term orthopedic shoulder injury that has forced him to vacate the UFC Light Heavyweight title and withdraw from his Pay-Per-View main event spot vs. Glover Teixeira at UFC 282. He will be out for the forseeable future and likely over a year. Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev will be the new main event and will fight for the vacant title. Glover Teixeira was offered a spot in the fight but turned it down.

This is the worst shoulder injury the doctors have seen in UFC history. It's really f******* bad. His shoulder is very, very bad. He's going to have serious surgery that will require extensive rehab.
- Dana White gives an update on Prochazka's injury.

Prochazka's manager came out and talked about the situation as well:

"The shoulder got wrecked in a standard wrestling accident type of thing. . . You know how shoulders are, right? It pops out and a lot of the time, you pop it right back in. There was a wait and it popped out, and you never really know with a shoulder until you dig into it. " - Manager Tim Simpson shed light on the situation.

Let's take a look at the new main event:

This undisputed title fight takes place in the Light Heavyweight (205 lbs) division.

Jan Blachowicz holds a professional record of 29-9-0 and is currently ranked #2. His notable wins include Israel Adesanya, Dominick Reyes, and Luke Rockhold.

Magomed Ankalaev holds a professional record of 18-1 and is currently ranked #3. His notable wins include Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and Nikita Krylov.

Blachowicz is coming off of a 3rd-round TKO win over Alessandra Rakic. The bout was 1-1 heading into the 3rd but Rakic sustained an ACL injury that forced an end to the contest.

Ankalaev is coming off a 2nd-round TKO win over Anthony Smith who likewise sustained a leg injury in the fight. Ankalaev finished Smith off with ground strikes after injuring his leg with a kick in the 1st round.

Per Brett Okamoto, Jiri Prochazka chose to vacate the title out of respect for the contenders of his division and did not want to hold it up. The UFC has released a statement and revealed that Prochazka will recieve and immediate title shot upon his return.

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