After what was arguably one of the greatest light heavyweight bouts of all time, the now-former 205lb champion Glover Teixiera has requested that he and Jiri Prochazka immediately run the fight back.
Glover Teixeira was up on the scorecards entering round five, and looked set to claim yet another underdog victory. However, with less than a minute to go, Prochazka was able to lock up a submission that forced Teixeira to tap.
There will no doubt no be endless debate on who Jiri Prochazka’s first title defense will be against. But Teixeira instantly made it clear that he is happy to run the fight back. The veteran fighter took to Twitter shortly after the fight, simply stating “Rematch??”
Anthony Smith does not agree that Glover Teixeira should be next for the title shot
Whilst fans of MMA will no doubt be happy to see Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira 2, one man who does not agree is Anthony Smith. ‘Lionheart’ is set to take on Magomed Ankalaev in the near future, and believes it should be a No.1 contender bout. Speaking on the UFC 275 post-fight show, Smith stated that:
“I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but Dana White has already come out and said that Magomed Ankalaev vs. me is a No. 1 contender fight. The winner gets a title shot. Dana is the boss. That’s what I think Ankalaev and I both thought was probably going to happen. Jan and Rakic just fought. Rakic was injured. Jan was probably losing that fight up until that injury. Essentially they both lost. That leaves me and Ankalaev. We’ve both been at the top of the division for a long time. I think that’s what’s next.” (H/T MMA Junkie).