Dana White has seen a lot of things in his time as the UFC President, but nothing like Jiri Prochazka’s recent injury.
The UFC Light Heavyweight Champion withdraw from his headliner spot at UFC 282 and would also vacate his title following the utter destruction of his shoulder. Prochazka reportedly suffered the shoulder injury during a wrestling session and will be out for quite a while.
‘The Worst Shoulder Injury We’ve Ever Seen’
For White, the scene was unlike anything that he’s ever come across.
“That night when it all went down and we had our doctor look at him, the doctor literally said in all the years at the UFC, this is the worst shoulder injury we’ve ever seen,” White said on Paddy Pimblett’s podcast.
Jiri Still Wanted To Fight
Prochazka, being the warrior (or better yet the samurai) he is, still wanted to fight Glover Teixeira at UFC 282. But, that was quickly met by a big no from the UFC boss and the doctors.
“It’s pretty nasty. Him being the f*cking savage that he still wanted to fight. He said, ‘I could do it…’ No. You can’t fight, kid.
“What happened was, it popped out and he had some guys there at the gym (who tried to put it back in). And they f*ckng ripped the shit out of it and destroyed his shoulder.”
‘Don’t Even Risk It’
Right after destroying his shoulder in practice, ‘Denisa’ was down to make his recovery in just a matter of months. While White has been known to be a ‘high-roller’ in casinos, the UFC boss wouldn’t gamble when it came to Prochazka’s recovery.
“That night when we were in there and we were having the meeting, and we were talking about the possibility of him fighting again, he was saying, ‘I think I can come back in five months…’ and all this shit. The doctor was with us, too, and the doctor’s like ‘you need to start being realistic about this.’
“The thing that I told him is, ‘I don’t want to put that type of pressure on you where you feel like to come back in five or six months and destroy your shoulder again. Take the time, do it right, get the right surgery.’ That night he decided that ‘I’m not gonna hold up the division, I’m gonna vacate the title’. [What a] stud.”
White would continue.
“I tell you, I told him, I tell all the fighters: if anything happens to you, jump in a f*ckng car and go to the hospital. We will pay for everything… people think that these guys at the gym can fix your shoulder, do this shit, that shit. Don’t even risk it. Just go to the hospital.”
