Glover
Teixeira’s first light heavyweight title defense will come
against Jiri
Prochazka at UFC 274.
The championship bout was first reported by
ESPN. UFC 274 takes place at an as yet to be announced location
on May 7 and airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+. It is currently
unclear if Teixeira vs. Prochazka will serve as the event’s
headliner.
The 42-year-old Teixiera is currently in the midst of a late-career
resurgence that has seen him compile a six-fight winning streak
dating back to Jan. 2019. That stretch culminated in a second-round
submission of Jan
Blachowicz to claim light heavyweight gold in the UFC 267
headliner on Oct. 30. The Brazilian initially challenged for the
belt in his sixth Octagon appearance, falling to Jon Jones via
unanimous decision at UFC 172 in April 2014.
Prochazka is a former Rizin Fighting Federation champion who enters
the matchup with Teixeira on a 12-bout professional winning streak.
The 29-year-old Czech Republic native has kicked off his
promotional tenure with back-to-back knockout wins over former
title challengers Volkan
Oezdemir and Dominick
Reyes. “Denisa” has finished his last 10 fights via knockout or
technical knockout.