Marc Raimondi, ESPN staff writer July 14, 2023 at 2:30 am ET
The UFC light heavyweight title is again vacant.
Jamahal Hill, who has been the champion for six months, announced on his YouTube page Thursday night that he had torn his Achilles tendon and would be relinquishing the belt. Hill said in the video that he will be out “for a while.”
“If I had a choice, would I be willing to forgo the belt?” he said. “No, I wouldn’t. You have to be consistent. I understand it’s business. The show must go on. I’m not exempt from that.”
Hill defeated former champion Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 in January to win the then-vacant title. Teixeira was supposed to challenge champion Jiri Prochazka for the belt in December, but Prochazka suffered a shoulder injury and had to sit out. Instead of Prochazka vs. Teixeira at UFC 292 in December, the UFC recorded a vacant title match between former champion Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev. This fight ended in a shared tie, leaving the division without a champion until Hill defeated Teixeira.
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This is the third time in the past three years that a UFC light heavyweight champion has relinquished the title. Ahead of Prochazka and Hill, longtime 205-pound king Jon Jones left the belt in August 2020 with plans to move up to heavyweight. Jones is now the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Hill said he appreciates Prochazka giving up the title late last year rather than keeping it and maintaining the division.
“I’ll do the same,” Hill said. “Right now the most important thing is to focus on my recovery, on getting back to 100 percent.”
Hill (12-1, 1 NC) has won four straight wins and won fight night awards in each of those wins. The Chicago native has a 6-1 record (1 NC) in the UFC. Hill, 32, was the first graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series to become the undisputed UFC champion.
“Sweet Dreams” said the UFC promised him they would give him a shot at the title upon his return from injury.
“I already know I’m the true champion,” Hill said. “I am the true champion. I can’t wait to prove it.”