Former UFC champion Jiri Prochazka is targeting a return to the cage in the summer after suffering the "worst shoulder injury in history".
Prochazka, 30, was forced to pull out of his light-heavyweight title defence against Glover Teixeira at UFC 282 last December after injuring his shoulder during training. The Czech fighter opted to vacate his belt to not hold up the division and Jamahal Hill recently claimed the title by beating Teixeira in Brazil this past weekend.
Rehabilitation is going even better than expected for Prochazka, who congratulated Hill on his recent win whilst warning the American about his plans to reclaim his title. There were fears that Prochazka could be sidelined for around a year, but he thinks he will be able to make his UFC return in late summer.
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“Everything is going a great way,” Prochazka said on The MMA Hour. “Next week I’m going to Las Vegas to continue in rehabilitation and all these processes to be quick, to have the fastest way back possible. I don’t want to be fast for the shoulder, but it’s getting much better than everybody expects, so I’m happy for that.
“I think I can be back in July or August, something like that. Six or seven months, something like that, because I don’t want the fastest way back just to fight. I know this is not the best attitude. I want to be sure that my body works for 200 per cent, and I think it can be in summer of this year. Just let me work on that and I will be back as soon as possible.”
UFC boss Dana White has promised Prochazka the chance to fight for his old title once he is fully recovered from injury, but it's unclear if the promotion will book Hill in his first title defence before the summer. Prochazka is training specifically to fight Hill, so hopes that the American still has the light-heavyweight belt when he makes his return to the cage.
"I don’t know if he wants to wait for me until this summer,” Prochazka added. “If he wants to, it will be the best, because I’m sharpening my weapons for him. If he wants to fight in some near future, it doesn’t matter for me.
"Like I said, I want to see the light heavyweight division is moving, because there are good guys and see the Jamahal Hill win as a great move. I’m very happy for that and I’m looking forward for him."
