UFC 282, the UFC’s final PPV event of the year, was set to be headlined by a rematch of one of the greatest title fights in UFC history between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira. The plans were scrapped two weeks out from the PPV with Prochazka, the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, suffering “the worst should injury the doctors have seen in UFC history”.
UFC 282: Blachowicz v Ankalaev Full Card, Date and Australia Start Times
Glover Teixeira v Jiri Prochazka I
The two men met at UFC 275 in Singapore in a fight for the ages. Teixeira, the reigning champion, was up three rounds to one on all three judges scorecards going into the 5th round.
In the 5th round, Teixeira jumped on a guillotine, which turned out to be the beginning of the end. Prochazka slipped out and eventually submitted Teixiera to claim the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in only his 3rd bout in the organisation.
The Injury
The rematch was set for UFC 282, which came as no surprise to the fans who recognised the first bout as an all-time classic. These plans were thrown out of the window due to Prochazka suffering a shoulder injury while training at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Prochazka’s manager, Tim Simpson, told Yahoo Sports that the injury occurred in a standard wrestling accident. Soon after news of his injury broke, Prochazka announced that he would vacate the belt with shoulder surgery likely meaning he would be out of the UFC Octagon for over a year.
The Aftermath
In light of Prochazka pulling out, logic would assume that Teixeira, the former Champion and fan-favourite, would remain in the main event and face either Jan Blachowicz or Magomed Ankalaev, who were set to fight in the co-main event. However, logic does not always apply in the UFC. Instead, the UFC announced that the new main event would feature a bout for the Vacant Light Heavyweight Title between Blachowicz and Ankalaev.
Teixeira was left without a fight, even though he was meant to be fighting for the title and had already beaten Blachowicz himself. Teixeira told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that the UFC offered him a title fight against Ankalaev. Teixeira rejected this as he believed he needed more time to prepare for Ankalaev but offered to either fight Blachowicz at UFC 282 or Ankalaev in a month at UFC 283, which is set to take place in Brazil.
The UFC chose neither and instead proceeded with the Vacant Title fight between Blachowicz and Ankalaev, leaving Teixeira without a fight and in a difficult situation at the end of his career.
UFC 282 is set to go down on Sunday, 11 December (AEDT) with the main event being a bout between Jan Blachowicz, the former champion, and rising Russian contender Magomed Ankalaev for the Vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Title. Read our breakdown and predictions for the main event, main card and prelims here.