Champion Glover Teixeira is promising an exciting title defense against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275.
Just a couple of days away from his first title defense, light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira has one of the most dangerous contenders in the division ahead of him. Jiri Prochazka is expected to bring one of the most unpredictable styles and some of the most fearsome knockout power into the fight, but the Brazilian sounds confident that he’ll show why he’s the champ.
In an interview with Ag Fight, Glover made sure to remind fans and pundits that he’s got plenty of his own credentials as a knockout artist. Even though Teixeira’s has only one win via strikes in the past six years, the 42-year-old vows to give ‘Denisa’ a hard time on the feet right from the start.
“I’ll beat him up. That’s what you expect of me and that’s what I always deliver,” Glover explained. “People who have seen me in the beginning of my career, when I fought at Bitetti, Shooto and up until my Jon Jones fight in the UFC [know how I am]. Then when I fought Gustafsson with a broken nose, still going after him. That’s what I’ve always done. I’ll go after him and I’ll rough him up. I don’t need to talk, because I do it. I’m looking for the finish, for sure.”
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt, Teixeira has been able to rely on his grappling to score important wins on his road to capturing his late-career championship, especially when things got rough on the feet. Although he does not believe Prochazka will try to engage him on the ground and expects a striking battle, the Brazilian is ready to take advantage of any opportunities that might come along in the fight.
“He’s unpredictable. You’ve got to expect anything and be ready for anything all the time,” Teixeira said of his opponent. “I have to do my thing. I don’t think he’ll look for a ground fight, because he knows I’m strong there. We’ll see. I’m ready and focused for this fight. No kidding. I don’t think about my opponents too much. I’ve been sharpening my hands, too. People forget that I also have lots of knockout wins in my career. It’s good that they forget, though, because my hands are sharp.”
Currently on a six-fight winning streak, Teixeira (33-7) defeated notable names such as Jan Blachowicz, Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith on his climb to the top of the division. His last defeat came in July 2018, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Corey Anderson.
Teixeira vs. Prochazka is set for the UFC 275 main event, on June 11, in Singapore. In the night’s co-main event, women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is scheduled to face challenger Taila Santos.