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Glover Teixeira will look to continue his improbable reign as the light heavyweight champion against Jiri Prochazka in the main event of UFC 275 from Kallang, Singapore.
The 42-year-old captured gold nearly a decade into his UFC career with a second-round submission win over Jan Blachowicz. Now, he’ll take on a rising star in Prochazka.
The 29-year-old has only fought twice in the UFC, but he’s already made his impact felt. With second-round knockouts over Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes, he’s already earned a shot at the championship.
A women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Taila Santos will serve as the co-main event. A rematch between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili rounds out a solid trio of fights to end the night.
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Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)
- Jiri Prochazka -210 (bet $210 to win $100) vs. Glover Teixeira (c) +170 (bet $100 to win $170), light heavyweight championship
- Valentina Shevchenko (c) -630 vs. Taila Santos +450, women’s flyweight championship
- Zhang Weili –165 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk +145
- Jack Della Maddalena -160 vs. Ramazan Emeev +140
- Manel Kape -235 vs. Rogerio Bontorin +190
Prelims (ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET
- Brendan Allen -310 vs. Jacob Malkoun +245
- Andre Fiahlo -140 vs. Jake Matthews +120
- Seungwoo Choi -240 vs. Josh Culibao +195
- Steve Garcia -170 vs. Maheshate +150
Early Prelims (UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET)
- Silvana Juarez -135 vs. Liang Na +115
- Batgerel Danaa -140 vs. Kyung Ho Kang +120
- Joselyne Edwards -160 vs. Ramona Pascual +140
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
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The light heavyweight division has been devoid of a star since Jon Jones dropped the belt to pursue the heavyweight crown.
Bones might be divisive, but he generates interest. Since his exodus, Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira have taken turns with the belt. They are a combined 81 years old. They have great stories as fighters whose persistence paid off.
They don’t, however, have the same prospect of dominating the division the way Jones did to capture the imagination of fans.
Prochazka believes he does, and he’s going to show fans on Saturday night.
“I imagined that, I worked with that, but it’s amazing,” Prochazka said about his preparation for the fight, per E. Spencer Kyte of UFC.com. “I’m not just glad for that, I’m ready for that—I’m ready to take the crown, to show the world that I am the champion, the future.”
Prochazka’s confidence is high for someone that only has two UFC fights, but he’s built it fighting in the RIzin organization in which he hasn’t lost since 2015. All but one of those wins has come by way of knockout.
The Czech phenom could just make a major statement.
Prediction: Prochazka via third-round TKO
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Valentina Shevchenko has reached levels of dominance rarely seen in the world of MMA. In a sport that is often characterized by chaos and unpredictability, she has been a rock in the women’s flyweight division.
With Amanda Nunes’ loss to Julianna Pena, Shevchenko is now the longest-reigning champion in the UFC.
She’ll see a new challenge in Taila Santos, who is 19-1 in her career. But Shevchenko is not sweating the matchup.
“It’s like, ‘No one is unbeatable. She has some holes in her game,’” Shevchenko told media, describing what she hears from opponents all the time. “But once they step inside the Octagon, they feel the opposite side. They feel the difference between the fighters and this is the most important.”
Santos, like other contenders, brings certain skills to the table. She is a decent grappler and has a diverse array of strikes. It’s tough to pick against the incredibly well-rounded skill set of Shevchenko, though.
Prediction: Shevchenko via decision
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Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
If the first meeting between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili doesn’t wind up in the Hall of Fame, there’s really no reason to have a wing for epic fights.
The two engaged in a brutal five-round affair in which they combined to land 351 significant strikes. Despite Joanna Violence landing 186 of those, she wound up on the wrong end of a split decision and conceded the title to Weili that night.
Now, she’s looking for revenge. While Weili went on to lose the title, we haven’t seen Jedrzejczyk fight since their encounter in 2020.
The exciting fight was great for fans, but the former champion realizes the go-for-broke pace and style ultimately weren’t in her best interest.
“I was standing too much in front of her,” Jedrzejczyk said, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. “I was working on moving more before that fight, but like I said, I’m a warrior. I took the fight [to her], I went into the battle, into the war and we are going back and forth.”
Weili has since lost back-to-back fights against Rose Namajunas. But that doesn’t mean much given Namajunas’ own talent level. This is going to be a tough matchup for Jedrzejczyk to win once the punches start flying and the temptation to exchange is there once again.
Prediction: Weili via decision
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