Last month at UFC 275, we saw one of the greatest title fights in the history of the promotion. The light heavyweight title was on the line as Glover Teixeira (33-8) was looking to defend his title against Jiri Prochazka (29-3-1).
Entering the fight, it was going to be a battle of the toughness and grappling of Teixeira against the wild and precise striking of Prochazka. We saw both men have a ton of success at UFC 275. Teixeira was able to get Prochazka down several times and brutalize him on the ground.
We saw Prochazka hurt Teixeira multiple times on the feet during the striking exchanges. It was a back-and-forth war that saw both men bloodied and battered. In the fifth round, Teixeira seemed to be up on all the scorecards.
Teixeira was the one who actually hurt Prochazka bad on the feet in the fifth. However, the former UFC champion tried to jump a guillotine and lost all momentum as Prochazka ended up on top. Still, Teixeira was able to win the majority of the round.
Both men were exhausted and they ended up in a scramble. With just about 30 seconds left in the fight, Prochazka locked up a choke. Teixeira was just 30 seconds away from a decision win and retaining his title when he was forced to tap.
Will the UFC run it back?
Jiri Prochazka showed the world so much that night as he became the UFC’s light heavyweight champion. After the fight was over, it wasn’t clear on what would be next for the champion. There was the possibility of a rematch with Glover.
However, there was also the potential of an Eastern European showdown with former champion Jan Blachowicz. In addition, Anthony Smith and Magomed Ankalaev are fighting at UFC 277 and that could produce a number one contender.
A lot was probably going to come down to what the champion wanted and he took to social media to talk about it this week. Prochazka said that he wants the UFC to book a rematch between him and Teixeira.
Yes, he defeated Teixeira, but he emphasized that he was really unhappy with his performance. He wants to dominant Teixeira and leave no doubts that he’s the best in the world and that’s why he wants the fight.
Blachowicz desperately wants the shot and my guess is that the winner of Smith/Ankalaev will want it to. Whoever doesn’t get the shot will likely fight the other runner-up for the next crack at UFC gold. A very fluid situation, but with Prochazka calling for Teixeira, don’t be shocked if that’s what we see next.