Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira will make his first 205-pound title defense against surging division contender Jiri Prochazka as part of the UFC 274 pay-per-view (PPV) event on May 7, though a city and venue have yet to be revealed.
Teixeira (33-7) is currently a +155 betting underdog, according to Draft Kings, against -180 for Prochazka. The Brazilian turns 43 later this year, but that hasn’t stopped him from winning six straight, including last October’s submission victory over Jan Blachowicz.
“I seen him, he realized he didn’t have much time to take the title and he did that this time,” Prochazka told The AllStar. “He showed the best energy in his career and with his skills, he won the title. But, my energy, my focus, and my skills, I just want to say I’m still learning and I’m still pushing my style and all the skills to the next level. In my levels, there is so much space to make upgrades in my style, so I think in the fight I will be on another level than him. I just want to achieve that.”
Prochazka (28-3-1), who spent the last decade terrorizing the international MMA scene, has just two fights inside the Octagon. Both contests — which came against former title challengers Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes — ended by way of violent knockout.
That said, Teixeira was also the betting underdog in his last three fights (Blachowicz, Thiago Santos, Anthony Smith) and he finished all three of those opponents by way of knockout or submission, something to keep in mind when opening your wallet.