Jamahal Hill weighs in on Jiri Prochazka reportedly turning down UFC title shot for university exams: "Fighting isn't forever"

Jamahal Hill recently weighed in on the discussion about Jiri Prochazka's decision to turn down a UFC title fight and focus on his university exams. Hill, who has previously been defeated by Prochazka at UFC 311, acknowledged the Czech fighter's choice to concentrate on his studies at Masaryk University and be away from the octagon temporarily.

Prochazka, who has never lost the light heavyweight belt and had to vacate it due to injury in 2022, has worked relentlessly to reclaim the title. After his comeback, he lost to Alex Pereira twice, but his win over Hill cleared his path to contention.

During an interview with Inside Fighting, Hill expressed his thoughts about Prochazka's move and said:

"I believe he's a man of certain principles and morals. He's not willing to bypass those. If he feels this is something important that he needs to do before he returns, I applaud him. If you have something you stand for, and you stand on it, I support you 100%."

He continued:

"If that's what he feels he needs to do before getting back into this lane—because fighting isn't guaranteed, it isn't forever—then I get it. If he knows that now is the best time to put himself in a position to live the life he wants, make the money he wants, and set himself up for the future, then yeah."

Check out Jamahal Hill's comments in the video below (08:53):

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Jamahal Hill reflects on loss to Jiri Prochazka, eyes redemption after injury setbacks

Jamahal Hill reflected on his loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 311, admitting the impact of his injuries, which were a partial reason for his movements inside the octagon. Hill also admitted that he was in a state of denial after he got knocked out.

Nevertheless, 'Sweet Dreams' expressed his will to reclaim his previous form and pursue rematches with both Prochazka and Alex Pereira. In the aforementioned video, he said:

"I feel that I was almost in a place of denial, right? Like, you don’t want to believe that these injuries have cost you anything or really taken anything from you. And I want that. Now that I actually feel the difference in how I’m moving now versus how I was able to move before and things like that—yeah, I want that back." (6:10 onwards)

He added:

"Not so much in the Pereira fight. I was coming off the Achilles injury, so I had a lot, I was worrying about that, things like that, and things on my mind. But the knee injury, added on to the Achilles injury, put me in another spot to where it was like, all right."