Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka Prediction: Looks like curtains for the Old champion

The headline event of UFC 275 sees this light heavyweight title bout that promises to be full of fireworks as two forward moving fighters contest for the Light Heavyweight championship in Singapore.

The 42-year-old Brazilian became the oldest UFC champion when he submitted Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267 in October 2021 to become the Light Heavyweight champion. With 33 wins and 7 losses, the veteran is a traditional stalker ever willing to move forward in the Octagon. He thrives with counter-punches, luring his opponents into exchanging punches and strikes with him. But on the ground, the Brazilian who has been wrestling since his youth is one of the best. He has excellent grappling defence and is famous for re-wrestling his way back to his feet as he has shown throughout his career. When on top, he usually closes out his opponents with a mix of head-and-arm chokes and rear-naked chokes and efficiently closes out any exposed back with ground strikes to pressure points. Against Jan Blachowicz he brought his grappling skills to the fore.

In just his 3rd fight in the promotion, Jiri Prochazka will be fighting for the Light Heavyweight title. This is a testament to his skills and spirit. His two previous fights in the promotion earned him performance of the night awards. Described as a ‘mad man’ by some pundits because of his relentless forward movement wherein he rarely ever retreats. Always on the front foot, Denise fights with feints, karate style frames using his arms and unpredictable tempo changes. Prochazka deploys flying knees regularly and generally has access to a full range of tactics and counter-attacks.

Looking at the resume of the 29-year-old challenger, he has a full arsenal of weapons at his disposal to dethrone the old champ. This sentiment is reflected in the numbers from the oddsmakers. Jiri Prochazka is the clear favourite not only with the oddsmakers but with MMA fans. Teixeira still holds the clear edge on the ground and at some time may wish to take the fight to the canvas. There he is certainly the favourite to submit his challenger. Most likely the two fighters will feint and dance and exchange strikes and punches. At 29, Jiri Prochazka has the edge in speed and his heart and ‘mad man’ enthusiasm is likely to see him take the belt at the end.

• W2 for 1.45
• W2 by KO, TKO or DQ for 1.77
• Over 1.5 rounds for 1.66

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