Another UFC 275 MMA tournament will take place this Saturday in Singapore, with the men’s bantamweight title fight between Prohazka and Teixeira in the main title fight, and the women’s title fight between Shevchenko and Santos. For a look at these and other fights on the main card, check out UFC 275. All fights will be streamed live for free on 1ufc.net
Glover Teixeira vs Jiri Prochazka
Seven and a half months after completing one of the most incredible treks to championship gold in UFC history, 42-year-old Brazilian Glover Teixeira (33-7) will make his first defense of his featherweight title against the rapidly gaining Czech Jiri Prochazka.
Teixeira “choked” Blachowicz in the second round in October 2021 to become the oldest UFC champion in history, breaking the record of Randy Couture, who took the title at age 37. Seven years and 15 fights after his biggest win of his life, Teixeira gets a chance at a second one. The 42-year-old fighter made his first title defense with a six-fight win streak, defeating Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos and Blachowicz in his last three fights. Teixeira has defeated Ovince St. Preux, Jared Cannonier and Anthony Smith in his UFC career, but the 29-year-old Prohazka (29-5) is a different level of fighter.
On Saturday, the contender entered the Octagon for the third time in his UFC career after a 13-month hiatus, when a superb back-and-forth elbow victory over Dominic Reyes was scored. The 12 straight wins speak for themselves. In his first fight in the UFC, the Czech easily knocked out Volkan Ozdemir. Before coming to the UFC, Prohazka was a star in Japan; the Rizin promotion gave the Czech a great start to his career.
Prohazka vs Teixeira is a prime example of a “puncher vs. grappler” clash, the old school representative will try to defend the title against the powerful and feisty new school student. Prohazka in the title fight plans to dominate the whole fight, not allowing Teixeira to transfer the fight to the ground.
There’s a 14-year difference between the champion and the challenger – can experience and veteran savvy defeat the hurricane power of the intimidating Czech? Prohazka has a chance to become the first UFC champion from the Czech Republic!
Valentina Shevchenko vs Tayla Santos
The representative of Kyrgyzstan and the top female UFC star from the former Soviet Union, Valentina Shevchenko is looking to put her name in the record books once again, as she will defend her title against dangerous Brazilian challenger Tayla Santos in the main event of UFC 275 night.
Before Saturday’s fight, Shevchenko (22-3) tied with Ronda Rousey for the most successful title defenses in UFC history — now six. Like Rousey, the 34-year-old Shevchenko rolled through the challengers, taking the bantamweight title for the first time in 2018 after defeating Jędrzejczyk. Ai, Carmouche, Chugakian, Maia, Andrade and Murphy could do nothing against Valentina’s powerful style. Now Shevchenko is on the verge of a great record, but 29-year-old Brazilian Santos (19-1) has other plans
Santos comes to Singapore with a four-fight winning streak, sealing her opportunity to become champion with a first-round submission victory over Joanne Wood in November 2021. Santos suffered her only loss by split decision in her promotion debut against Mara Borelli in 2019. Since then, the Brazilian has shown impressive power, with more chances on Saturday than any other opponent.
Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk
When Zhang Weili (21-3) and Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4) first faced off in the UFC 248 Octagon in March 2020, the featherweight representatives had one of the best fights in UFC history. A fierce rematch is planned for Saturday, with the Pole trying to capture the title.
Bringing her win streak to 21 thanks to a split-decision victory over Jedrzejczyk in their legendary first meeting, Zhang comes to Saturday’s rematch on a streak of two straight losses for the first time in her career. Rose Namayunas first took the UFC bantamweight title away from Valley and then wouldn’t let her get it back in 2021. The Chinese woman is determined to punish Jędrzejczyk again .
The Pole herself has not performed since fight night, losing 4 of her last 6 fights. Although each of those losses came in championship fights against elite opponents, everyone understands that the fight with Weili could be the last for the 34-year-old champion. Who has just two wins since making her fifth consecutive successful title defense with a unanimous decision victory over Jessica Andrade at UFC 211 five years ago. She was stopped twice by the very same Rose Namayunas, here the stories of the Pole and the Chinese woman are similar.
You can’t expect a repeat of the fight from two years ago in the fight between Weili and Jędrzejczyk, if only because Saturday’s fight will consist of 3 rounds instead of 5. For Jędrzejczyk it will be one of the last chances to stay on top, for Weili it will be an opportunity to fight for the title again against Namajunas, who has become a crossroads for both fighters.
From the title fights, let’s move on to the other fights of the UFC 275 main card.
Jack Della Maddalena vs. Ramazan Emeev
Jack Della Maddalena (11-2) and Ramazan Emeev (20-5) will open the main card in an exciting welterweight bout. Dana White Contender Series (DWCS) member Della Maddalena quickly handled Pete Rodriguez in his promotion debut fight. The 25-year-old Australian will try for his 11th straight win against the 35-year-old Emeev.
The Russian Emeev has a 5-2 overall record in the UFC, most recently losing by split decision to Danny Roberts. The 35-year-old Emeev has had a lot of fights, but the last six years his fights can’t be called spectacular, most recently ending his fight early with a split-decision victory over Falcao in 2016.
Andre Fiallo vs. Jake Matthews
Andre Fiallo (16-5) will fight his 4th fight of the year on Saturday against the returning Jake Matthews (16-5). Fiallo was interesting early in his career at UFC 2022, winning after losing to Pereira by first-round knockout of Baez and another three weeks later with a knockout win over Cameron VanCamp.
Matthews, a former Ultimate Fighter and UFC member since age 19, is making his first appearance this weekend since a third-round submission loss to Sean Brady at UFC 259 in March 2021. That loss snapped the 27-year-old fighter’s three-fight winning streak, although he is 6-2 overall since returning to the welterweight division.
Worth noting: UFC 275 preliminary card fights
Brendan Allen vs. Jacob Mulcun
The talented Allen (20-5) has six wins in eight fights in the UFC, starting the year with a bantamweight victory over Sam Alvey. After Malkun (6-1) lost his debut fight against Phil Howes in 18 seconds, he picked up wins over Abdul Razak Alhassan and A.J. Dobson. The Australian has shown a great ability to neutralize opponents and control them on the floor, but it will be interesting to see if he can do the same against current Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt holder Allen this Saturday.
Rogerio Bontorin vs. Manel Kape
Rogerio Bontorin (17-3) is looking to get back on level terms after his knockout of Kai Kara-France and cancellation of his win over Matt Schnell last year, while Manel Kape (14-6) is looking to reassert his claim to the bantamweight title. Kape claimed to be the most dangerous fighter in the division after standout wins over Adam Osborne and Zhalgas Zhumagulov. We’ll see what comes out in action.
Son Wu Choi vs Joshua Culibao
Welterweight fights round out the UFC 275 preliminary card with South Korean boxer Seung Woo Choi (10-4) facing Australia’s Josh Coulibao (5-1). Choi, 29, rebounded from consecutive losses to Movsar Yevloyev and Gavin Tucker in his first two UFC appearances, last year he had a three-fight winning streak, the result of his fight against Caceres was overturned due to a banned knee strike. Cuban Culibao, 28, started in the UFC with a win, a draw and a loss.
As a reminder, all UFC 275 main card fight broadcasts will be available at 1ufc.net! Turn on and enjoy the best fights in the world!
