Two title fights and a rematch of a bout widely regarded as the greatest women’s MMA match of all time top the bill on Saturday at UFC 275 in Singapore.
Brazil’s Glover Teixeira (33-7) defends his UFC light heavyweight belt against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Prochazka (28-3-1) in the main event of the pay-per-view card at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
In addition, Kyrgyzstan’s Valentina Shevchenko (22-3) meets Brazil’s Taila Santos (19-1) for the women’s flyweight title in the co-headliner. Former UFC strawweight champs Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4) of Poland and Zhang Weili (21-3) of China square off in a featured rematch.
Teixeira, who fights out of Connecticut, has been on an astonishing run. He culminated a six-fight winning streak at UFC 267 in October 2021 by submitting Jan Blachowicz to claim the light heavyweight crown just two days after his 42nd birthday.
Prochazka, 29, has won his past 12 fights, including both in the UFC. The knockout artist scored sensational finishes in wins over Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes.
Teixeira, because of his age, found himself in a rare position for a champion at a media day on Wednesday: being asked when he would retire.
“I’m just living in the moment,” he said. “Let tomorrow take care of itself.”
In the flyweight bout, Shevchenko enters her title defense as a massive -630 favorite. Shevchenko, the longest-reigning current UFC title holder, has rarely had to break a sweat in defending her 125-pound crown six times.
Santos, for her part, has certainly proven herself no pushover in earning four straight victories, but she is undeniably taking a giant step up in competition.
Third from the top is the rematch between Weili and Jedrzejczyk. The duo put on an amazing, 25-minute display of heart and technique at UFC 248 in March 2020. Then-champion Weili earned the victory on a razor-thin split decision. The only difference in this fight is it will last a maximum of three rounds instead of five.
The winner is expected to earn the next shot at current title holder Carla Esparza.
–Field Level Media