Jiri Prochazka’s rise to the top of the UFC light heavyweight division was nothing short of meteoric. The former RIZIN champion first set foot inside the Octagon in July of 2020, picking up a second round KO over Volkan Oezdemir. Two years and one fight later and he was battling Glover Teixeira for gold.
At that point fans could be excused for thinking the 30-year-old was on the cusp of a long and thrilling title reign. Instead, on Wednesday, November 24th, Prochazka announced that he was officially vacating his belt without a single title defense. The reason? What UFC president Dana White called the “worst shoulder injury the doctors have seen in UFC history.