Jamahal Hill vacates UFC light heavyweight championship
UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill (12-1) will vacate his UFC light heavyweight championship belt without having ever defended the title he earned earlier this year.
Hill, 32, made the announcement Thursday night on YouTube, citing that the injury he sustained is a ruptured Achilles tendon.
“I have unfortunately suffered an injury,” Hill said. “I’ve ruptured my Achilles’ [tendon]. It’s just one of those things that happens. 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. Also with that, I was given an opportunity. I was given a blessing that came at the misfortune of someone else. Jiri Prochazka was the champion, he suffered an injury as these things happen. He gave up the belt and allowed for others to not hold the division. To keep the division moving forward. To keep entertaining. To make sure the people had a champion. I’ll do the same.
“Right now, the biggest thing is focusing on my recovery, focusing on getting back to 100 percent. I need to take some time to focus on my health and make sure that I’m 100 percent and I’m the fighter that everybody knows who I am and who I’ve been since I’ve stepped into this. In order to do that, I need to focus on healing and getting ready and rehabbing.”
Hill won the championship belt in January after defeating former champion Glover Teixeira in a title bout after Jiří Procházka also vacated the belt due to injury.
The injury Hill sustained will require surgery. Typical recovery time for a torn Achilles runs from approximately eight to 12 months, but could stretch longer depending on rehabilitation.
