A massive Ultimate Fighting Championship rematch for the
light heavyweight belt is in the works for December.
According to
MMA Fighting on Thursday, the UFC is setting up the second
iteration of Jiri
Prochazka (29-3-1) vs. Glover
Teixeira (33-8). Per the report, the two 205ers have verbally
agreed to the pairing, but the contracts have not been signed.
Should it come together, the two will meet again at UFC 282,
likely in the headliner spot, on Dec. 10. The destination is not
yet official, but it is expected this year-end pay-per-view card
will be staged at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. No other fights
have been booked for this show thus far.
In just three trips to the Octagon, Prochazka went from newcomer to
contender to champion. His first appearance in 2020 saw him starch
Volkan
Oezdemir with one punch. This springboarded the Czech fighter
to a top-ranked matchup in 2021 with former title challenger
Dominick
Reyes, and the two put on a show until Prochazka flattened
Reyes with a spinning back elbow. The crack at the belt in June
2022 proved successful, after a titanic back-and-forth struggle
between Prochazka and Teixeira, and “Denisa” ultimate finished
Teixeira with a rear-naked choke. The instant “Fight of the Year”
contender also extended Prochazka’s stellar win streak to 13
straight, with 11 consecutive finishes.
The “Cinderella story” of Teixeira came to a thrilling but dramatic
end in June, when he tapped out to a submission for the first time
in his storied career. The fifth-round defeat – one in which
Teixeira was leading on two of three official
scorecards heading to the final frame – concluded a significant
six-fight win streak that saw him move up the 205-pound ladder and
claim the throne from Jan
Blachowicz. On his way up, the Brazilian by way of Connecticut
topped the likes of Thiago
Santos, Anthony
Smith and Nikita
Krylov. As a professional, the 42-year-old former champion
celebrates an 85% finish rate – however, this trails Prochazka’s
97%.
UFC 282-December 10-Las Vegas
— Jiri BJP Prochazka (@jiri_bjp)
August 11, 2022
The two have been chattering back and forth on Twitter this past
week, with Prochazka telling Blachowicz he never promised him the
fight, and that he was waiting to hear from Teixeira. The Brazilian
replied that he wanted a date for the fight, and Prochazka replied
simply with, „UFC 282-December 10-Las Vegas.“ Teixeira responded in
the affirmative to this, likely putting an end to efforts to get
the two on the UFC 283 event in Brazil in January.