being forced to drop out of his upcoming UFC Light Heavyweight championship defense against Glover Texeira at UFC 282 due to a shoulder injury he sustained during training.

As of a result of that injury, Prochazka made the decision to relinquish the championship belt rather than hold up the rest of the division for the foreseeable future.

When Dana White was asked about Prochazka’s injury that forced him to vacate his championship, he responded by saying that “this is the worst shoulder injury the doctors have seen in UFC history”.

While that is more than likely an exaggeration of the extent of the injury, Prochazka will most likely be out between six months and a year according to most reports, although that is only an estimate until the exact extent of the injury is known.

With the news that Prochazka would no longer be able to defend his title at UFC 282 in two weeks, the UFC subsequently announced that Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev would be the new main event to determine the new UFC Light Heavyweight champion.

The promotion initially offered a spot in the newly created main event for the vacant title to Texeira, but he ultimately declined to accept facing Ankalaev on such short notice since the UFC insisted that would be the matchup opposed to Blachowicz vs Texeira.

Ankalaev is riding a nine-fight winning streak and is 18-1 in his MMA career, with the sole loss coming in the literal final second of his UFC debut against Paul Craig, so it would be hard for the promotion to pass on his involvement in this situation.

Nonetheless, there are many in the MMA community who were disappointed that Texeira will no longer be getting a chance to regain his championship next month. One also has to wonder if he will still get another opportunity in the future.

While it’s likely he will face the winner of the new main event, it’s entirely possible that another fighter high in the division rankings could overtake his position in line or that Prochazka could heal quicker than expected and return to challenge for the belt himself.

Texeira and his fans have every reason to be disappointed with how this situation has unfolded, but the UFC really had no choice but to keep a title fight on the card despite the overall depth of the lineup.

There are now 13 fights currently scheduled for the final UFC PPV event of 2022 after this most recent lineup change. Hopefully the rest of the card will stay intact over the next two weeks leading into the event as several fights have already been altered or dropped.

You can also find out more of our early thoughts on UFC 282, as well as some new information on Jon Jones potential return to the UFC.

Be sure to check back during the week of the event for our full picks, predictions, analysis and betting card for UFC 282. This upcoming weekend will see the promotion return to Florida for UFC Orlando in the final event before this card.

Are you content with the new matchup to determine a new UFC Light Heavyweight champion? Will Glover Texeira still receive another opportunity to regain his title after turning down this main event spot? Let us know your thoughts below in the comments section!

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