The most cursed division in the sport has suffered some more tragic news. UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill announced via his Youtube channel that he will be relinquishing his title due to a ruptured achilles. According to Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, the injury occurred during a basketball game at international fight week.
Jamahal Hill won the title light heavyweight championship back in January at UFC 283 after a dominant performance over Glover Teixeira. Hill was expected to face Jiri Prochazka sometime later this year, however, the fight and Hill’s career have now stalled with the injury. The injury requires rehab and surgery, likely sidelining Hill until at least March of 2024. The now-former champion says he has been promised a title shot in his return.
Vacant Title
This horrible news does raise an interesting question. The vacant title will now be up for grabs with a plethora of options at the UFC’s disposal. Alex Pereira and Jan Blachowicz have a title eliminator booked for the co-main of UFC 291 on July 29th. That fight between the former middleweight and light heavyweight champion could easily serve as a vacant title fight.
On top of that, former champion Jiri Prochazka appears to be nearing a potential comeback from a shoulder injury that forced him to vacate the title back in December of last year. Magomed Ankalaev is also in the mix, coming off a draw in his vacant title fight against Blachowicz in December. While the easiest and most likely option would be to promote Pereira vs. Blachowicz to a vacant title fight, the UFC could opt to wait for the winner to fight Prochazka or Ankalaev. This horrible situation has flipped the division completely on its head, with the future being a massive question mark.
No matter what happens with the title, we wish Jamahal Hill the best with his recovery and hope to see him back in the octagon soon.
What was your reaction to Jamahal Hill vacating his title? Who do you think will fight for the belt next? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured Image Credit to Embed from Getty Images
