Ex-UFC champ Jiri Prochazka looks impressive in first training footage since shoulder injury
Former UFC champion Jiri Prochazka is looking impressive in his first training footage since suffering a shoulder injury.
'Denisa' has been on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury he suffered in preparation for a rematch against Glover Teixeira. Prochazka had to undergo surgery because of the same and was expected to be out of action for quite some time.
It looks like Jiri Prochazka is recovering well as he has already started training. The former UFC light heavyweight champion recently took to Instagram to share some training footage where he was seen hitting the pads.
Take a look at the post below:
Jiri Prochazka became the UFC light heavyweight champion after defeating Glover Teixeira in the fifth round of their UFC 275 clash in 2022. Since the bout was extremely close up to that point, a rematch between the two was booked for later in the year.
However, as mentioned earlier, Prochazka had to vacate his title after suffering a shoulder injury. Jan Blachowicz then went on to fight Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant light heavyweight championship at UFC 282 but the bout ended in a draw and no new champion was crowned.
The vacant UFC light heavyweight belt was put on the line again at UFC 283. This time between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill, and the latter became the new champion by beating the Brazilian via decision.
Jiri Prochazka shoulder injury: When will 'Denisa' return to the octagon?
The former UFC light heavyweight champion has revealed a potential timeline for his return to the octagon. Jiri Prochazka revealed that his shoulder recovery is going well and that he is taking everything step by step without rushing too much.
After being out of action for nearly a year, Prochazka is expected to make his return sometime around September this year. While talking about the same during an interview with Low Kick MMA, 'Denisa' said:
“(My) shoulder is great. Great, great, great! So, I’m working on that everyday... Everything’s going smoothly. Everything’s going step by step to be back in the end of this summer... I wanted to be back in six months after this surgery, [but the] shoulder is not so easy to rehab because there is many angles, many things to work on.”
Given the former champion's record, his return is bound to be highly anticipated.