Jamahal Hill relinquishes UFC title after suffering ruptured Achilles

Jamahal Hill relinquishes UFC title after suffering ruptured Achilles

The UFC light heavyweight title is vacant. The champion, Jamahal Hill, posted a video on YouTube explaining that he suffered a ruptured Achilles and will relinquish the title.

“I have unfortunately suffered an injury,” Hill said. “I’ve ruptured my Achilles. It’s just one of those things that happens, you know. It’s a tough injury. It’s one that will require surgery. It will require time and rehab and things for me to be out for a while. 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, and he gave up the title. He gave up the belt and allowed for others to not hold the division up. To keep the division going forward, to keep entertaining, to make sure the people had a champion. I’ll do the same.”

The UFC lightweight division has been hit with a string of injured champions. In the lead-up to UFC 282, Jiri Prochazka suffered an injury and vacated the title. The title remained vacant until UFC 283 when Hill earned a decision victory over former champion Glover Teixeira to claim the belt.

Hill’s injury will force him out of the division’s title picture for the immediate future. Instead of focusing on fighting, he will focus on recovery.

“Right now, the biggest thing is focusing on my recovery, Hill said. “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.”

“To everyone that supports me, I will do everything I can to be back in front of you, 100 percent healthy, and as soon as possible, within reason,” Hill added.

Hill, 32, will be on the shelf for a while as Achilles injuries can, on average, take six months to a year to heal. Once you add a fight camp onto that time frame, it will be a long time before he returns to the octagon.

Once Hill is fully recovered, he expects to return to title fights.

“I’ve been promised that I will fight for my title immediately as soon as I am able,” Hill said. “As well as the other things that come with that.”

As the UFC entered 2023 one of the biggest questions the promotion faced was how it would fix the messy light heavyweight division. Hill’s dominant title win put that question on the back burner as the exciting striker became a fresh face atop the division. That solution is no longer viable and the promotion is once again forced to adapt.

The UFC has a handful of names that could participate in a vacant light heavyweight title. The most obvious is the aforementioned former champion, Prochazka. If he is healthy, he certainly walks into a title fight. The UFC 291 co-main event between Alex Pereira and Jan Blachowicz will play a crucial role in determining a number-one contender as well. Lastly, Magomed Ankalaev’s name will likely be thrown back into title conversations.

Regardless of how the UFC looks to solve the light heavyweight title problem, one thing is for certain. The division is in desperate need of stability.

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