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Jamahal Hill says he will no longer be the UFC light heavyweight champion.
Hill will be relinquishing his title because of an injury. He has injured his Achilles tendon badly enough to sit out the rest of the year, possibly. 'Sweet Dreams' revealed the news on Friday in an exclusive video on his YouTube channel.
"Everyone knows that I've been waiting for months now to face Jiri Prochazka to defend my belt and my title. Unfortunately, we're gonna have to wait a little bit longer for that to happen. I've unfortunately suffered an injury. I've ruptured my Achilles."
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He added that he will need prolonged recovery for the same.
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"It's a tough injury. It's one that will require surgery and will require time and rehab and things for me to be out for a while."
Jamahal Hill got emotional narrating the details of his injury during the video. He also touched upon the irony of how he got the title shot owing to Jiri Prochazka's injury.
The former champ vacated the belt to let the division move on, and others competed for the belt in his absence. Jamahal Hill said he plans on doing the same.
"He [Jiri Prochazka] gave up the belt and allowed others to not hold the division up, to keep the division moving forward, to keep entertaining, to make sure the people had a champion. And I'll do the same. Right now, the biggest thing is focusing on my injury, focusing on getting back to a 100%."
Watch Jamahal Hill's announcement below:
What does Jamahal Hill vacating the belt mean for UFC light heavyweight title?
There were rumors of Hill defending his belt against Prochazka later this year, but 'Denisa' was not yet prepared for the return. Now it seems like we will have yet another new light heavyweight champion soon.
This comes right before Alex Pereira's light heavyweight debut at UFC 291 against former champion Jan Blachowicz. Would the UFC put the belt on the line for the fight, given 'Poatan' is also a former champion, albeit in the middleweight division?
Only time (and matchmakers) will tell.
