UFC 275: Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka

Glover Teixeira makes the first defence of his light heavyweight title against Jiri Prochazka. Can Teixeira keep the belt or will Prochazka become the new champion? Valentina Shevchenko defends her flyweight title against Taila Santos. Can Santos upset the champion or will Shevchenko maintain her dominance over the division? Read on to inform your Teixeira vs. Prochazka predictions.

Event: UFC 275

Date: June 11, 2022

Venue: Singapore Indoor Stadium (Kallang, Singapore)

Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka: Tale of the Tape

Teixeira ended his long pursuit of a title in the UFC when beating Jan Blachowicz to win the light heavyweight belt last time out at UFC 267. It was Teixeira’s 21st fight in the UFC and extended his winning streak to six fights.

Prochazka is on the other end of the scale in terms of experience in the UFC, being just two fights into his career with the company. The Czech is riding a 12-fight winning streak and each of his last 10 victories have come via KO or TKO.

Analysing the Teixeira vs. Prochazka odds

Teixeira is the 2.740* underdog, despite being the defending champion, with his odds equating to an approximate 37.58% chance of victory. Challenger Prochazka can be backed at 1.487*, which translates to a 62.42% chance of winning.

Teixeira vs. Prochazka: fighting styles analysed

Champion Teixeira is extremely well-rounded and has a background in boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, in which he boasts a 2nd degree black belt. He has put those skills to good use during his MMA career, claiming 10 victories via submission.

Teixeira has lost just seven times across a 40-fight career and three of those defeats have come courtesy of KO or TKO.

Prochazka will be desperate to keep this fight standing up to play to his strengths. The Czech comes from a Muay Thai background and few have been able to cope with his striking ability.

The 29-year-old overwhelmingly relies on his striking, picking up 25 of his 28 victories via KO or TKO, while just two of his victories have come via submission and one courtesy of a decision.

Teixeira vs. Prochazka: where is the value?

Aged 42, just two days after his birthday, Teixeira achieved his lifelong ambition of becoming UFC champion; however, it’s hard to make an argument for a successful defence. Stringing together a six-fight win streak at this stage of his career is no mean feat but Prochazka appears to have the tools to come out on top.

Of course, if Teixeira takes this contest down to the canvas then he holds the edge but Prochazka’s takedown defence stats suggests that he should be able to keep the fight upright.

A height and reach advantage also appears to play into Prochazka’s hands and should allow the challenger to launch attacks from range, while ensuring he isn’t a sitting duck for any takedown attempts.

Backing over 1.5 rounds at 1.714* looks the best value bet for this fight when taking into account the recent record of both fighters.

Teixeira has gone at least two rounds in each of his last five fights, while both of Prochazka’s fights in the UFC ended in round two.

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos: Tale of the Tape

The queen of the UFC flyweight division Valentina Shevchenko will defend her title for the seventh time against Brazilian Taila Santos. Shevchenko has defended her title four times by way of knockout or TKO, while Santos has gone 19 and one in MMA which includes 10 KO/TKO victories. Shevchenko may be the champion but her MMA record isn’t so clean with 22 victories and three losses.

However, there is no doubt that Shevchenko has utterly dominated the flyweight division since moving down from bantamweight in September 2017. Shevchenko has been frighteningly convincing in all seven of her title defences and has blasted away the top four competitors in the division.

Shevchenko vs. Santos: Fighting styles analysed

Martial arts runs deep in the Shevchenko family – her mother was a four-time Muay Thai champion and her sister is also in the UFC – and she began training at an early age. Shevchenko has a background in Muay Thai and is an incredibly fast and powerful striker. Her grappling talent comes from holding a black belt in both judo and taekwondo, and she is a decorated champion in both disciplines.

Santos is also a talented Muay Thai fighter, having received training from an early age from her father who just so happened to be a renowned Muay Thai coach. Her ground game has been strengthened by significant Brazilian jiu-Jitsu training, in which Santos is currently a blue belt. Santos is a fast and powerful striker with a strong defence, that prefers to stay and counter rather than block and evade.

Shevchenko vs. Santos: Who has the edge?

There is little doubt that Santos will be facing an uphill battle against the defending champion. Shevchenko has very few weak points. She has run circles around some of the best strikers in the world and has submitted several opponents that many pundits believed would overpower her.

Santos is a powerful striker and fights predominately as a fast, Muay Thai striker. While she is powerful in the clinch with strong underhook and body lock positions, Shevchenko has outclassed stronger and more skilful grapplers than Santos. The champion can bridge large distances in a fight incredibly quickly and her ability to slip and counter is world-class.

It is very difficult to not be behind Shevchenko in this fight. While the Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena fight at UFC 269 proved that a tremendous upset can always happen, it is unlikely we’ll see one in this bout. Shevchenko looks to be a whole level above her competitors in this division and while Santos has certainly proven to be impressive, she lacks the multi-faceted arsenal required to overcome Shevchenko at this level.

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