Just two years ago, Jiri Prochazka didn’t even have a UFC fight under his belt. But fast-forward to now, the former RIZIN Light Heavyweight Champion has a chance to claim titleholder status in the main event of a pay-per-view card.
The rapidly rising light heavyweight talent will face veteran 205-pound champ Glover Teixeira on Saturday night, headlining UFC 275 from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
UFC 275 is also set to include a flyweight title fight, plus a rematch between former strawweight champions Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Here’s a full preview of the show.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Early Prelims (7:00PM EDT / 7:00AM SGT) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 1: Joselyne Edwards (10-4) vs. Ramona Pascual (6-3) (Featherweight)
UFC’s prelims will start at an early local time of 7:00 AM. In the U.S., that means the undercard will begin at the usual time for viewers. Joselyne Edwards will make her featherweight debut in the opening bout on Saturday morning, facing Ramona Pascual.
Edwards will be fighting to avoid a two-fight skid. She earned a win and two losses in her rookie year in the UFC. Her last fight was a unanimous decision defeat against Jessica-Rose Clark in October 2021.
Pascual is coming off an unsuccessful UFC debut. She entered the promotion on short notice last year, stepping in to face Josiane Nunes. That fight resulted in a decision victory for Nunes.
Bout 2: Silvana Gomez Juarez (10-4) vs. Liang Na (19-5) (Strawweight)
Both on the hunt for their first UFC win, Silvana Gomez Juarez and Liang Na will wrap up the brief early prelims card.
Juarez has suffered two defeats since joining the promotion last year. Both of her fights have been similar thus far, as they both saw her get submitted due to an armbar in the first round.
Liang lost her UFC debut last year, getting stopped by Ariane Carnelossi in the second round to end a hectic fight at UFC 261.
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EDT / 8:00AM SGT) (ESPN / TSN 5)
Bout 3: Kang Kyung-ho (17-9) vs. Danaa Batgerel (12-3) (Bantamweight)
The next bout is scheduled to be a bantamweight fight between Kang Kyung-ho and Danaa Batgerel.
Batgerel had a three-fight winning streak snapped in his last appearance, suffering a finish defeat against Chris Gutierrez in March. Before then, all of Batgerel’s UFC wins came via finish.
Kang similarly had a trio of wins broken in his last appearance. Fighting for the first time in nearly two years, Kang returned last year but dropped a unanimous decision to Rani Yahya.
Bout 4: Maheshate (6-1) vs. Steve Garcia (12-4) (Lightweight)
Maheshate will make his UFC debut on Saturday night against Steve Garcia.
Maheshate appeared on the most recent season of “Dana White’s Contender Series.” He earned a UFC contract after his performance, where he handed Achilles Estremadura his first pro loss in a unanimous decision result.
Maheshate lost his pro debut in 2019, but has been on a seven-fight winning streak since then.
Garcia won his return in October 2021, scoring a finish victory over Charlie Ontiveros. The fight was Garcia’s first appearance since February 2020.
Bout 5: Choi Seung-woo (10-4) vs. Joshua Culibao (9-1-1) (Featherweight)
In the featherweight division, Choi Seung-woo and Joshua Culibao will face off.
Choi lost to veteran Alex Caceres in his last appearance, getting submitted in the second round to a rear naked choke. He picked up three wins from 2019 to 2021 before then.
Culibao scored his first UFC victory last year, defeating Shayilan via unanimous decision. Before then, he had taken a draw and a loss in the promotion.
Bout 6: Brendan Allen (18-5) vs. Jacob Malkoun (6-1) (Middleweight)
In the final prelim bout, Brendan Allen will face Jacob Malkoun at middleweight.
Allen is coming off a submission win from earlier this year, defeating journeyman Sam Alvey with a rear naked choke. That turned things around for him after losing to short-notice opponent Chris Curtis late last year.
Malkoun has earned two wins since joining the UFC two years back. He spoiled the UFC debut of AJ Dobson in his last appearance, defeating him via unanimous decision at UFC 271.
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 10:00AM SGT) (PPV)
Bout 7: Jack Della Maddalena (11-2) vs. Ramazan Emeev (20-5) (Welterweight)
The main card will kick off with a fight between Jack Della Maddalena and Ramazan Emeev.
Della Maddalena joined the UFC roster in September 2021, defeating Ange Loosa on “Dana White’s Contender Series” to earn a contract. He then scored an explosive win in his UFC debut, stopping short-notice opponent Pete Rodriguez in the first round with strikes.
Emeev is a tough test for Della Maddalena, as he is experienced and fairly successful in the UFC. His promotional record currently sits at a positive five wins and two losses. He had a two-fight streak of wins broken in his last appearance, dropping a split decision in October 2021 against Danny Roberts.
Bout 8: Jake Matthews (17-5) vs. Andre Fialho (16-4) (Welterweight)
Andre Fialho’s busy year will continue this weekend with a fight against Jake Matthews.
This fight was first expected to take place on the prelims, but it was bumped up to the main card after a flyweight bout between Manel Kape and Rogerio Bontorin departed the lineup.
While we have yet to hit the halfway point of the year, Fialho is already making his fourth appearance in 2022. He first joined the UFC roster in January, stepping in on short notice to fight Michel Pereira. While he lost that fight via decision, he returned in recent months to score two first-round finish victories.
Matthews is fighting to come back from a submission loss that he took in March against Sean Brady. He had the momentum of a trio of wins in the promotion before then.
Bout 9: Zhang Weili (21-3) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4) (Strawweight)
In a highly anticipated rematch, former UFC Strawweight Champions Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk will face off.
Zhang and Jedrzejczyk first met in March 2020 in a five-round title bout. That battle, which Zhang won via split decision, was recognized by many as the 2020 “Fight of the Year.” The 25-minute fight saw both strawweights maintain a high output of strikes and absorb a large amount of damage overall. For many, a memory of the fight is a massive hematoma that Jedrzejczyk suffered on her forehead due to the battle.
Jedrzejczyk will be making her first appearance since that meeting this weekend. However, this time it won’t be a title fight and will only be three rounds in total.
This is because Zhang lost her title last year, suffering a first-round finish loss against Rose Namajunas. She then failed to recover the belt in a rematch at UFC 268, dropping a split decision to Namajunas.
Both 115-pound fighters will be looking to get back on track this weekend.
Bout 10: Valentina Shevchenko (22-3) vs. Taila Santos (19-1) (UFC Flyweight Championship)
Sandwiched between a title fight and a rematch with popular history, it feels like the flyweight title bout between Valentina Shevchenko and Taila Santos is being overlooked.
In reality, the fight could be a big moment for Shevchenko. A win for the current champ would mark the seventh time that she has defended her belt, which would surpass Ronda Rousey for most title defenses by any woman in UFC history.
As underscored in that stat, Shevchenko’s UFC run has been quite dominant. She first earned her 125-pound belt in 2018, defeating Joanna Jedrzejczyk. She has since scored six wins from 2019 to 2021, with four of those appearances coming via finish.
Shevchenko last fought in September 2021, when she earned a fourth-round finish over Lauren Murphy.
Santos is getting a title shot after a strong run in recent years. She has earned four UFC victories since 2020 at flyweight. She earned her first UFC finish in November 2021, submitting Joanne Wood in the first round with a rear naked choke.
The case in every Shevchenko fight is the same. The challenger has the chance to pull off a massive upset. But on the other side, Shevchenko has another opportunity to show why she is regarded to highly.
Bout 11: Glover Teixeira (33-7) vs. Jiri Prochazka (28-3-1) (UFC Light Heavyweight Championship)
Veteran Glover Teixeira had a big career moment last year when he became champion. But, to maintain that status, he will have to get past fast-rising talent Jiri Prochazka in Saturday night’s main event.
Teixeira earned the UFC 205-pound belt in October 2021, pulling off an upset second-round rear naked choke submission over Jan Blachowicz. This victory came after a dominant climb up the UFC ranks in recent years, stringing together five wins since early 2019.
This sudden rise to the top of the division was unlike many, as it came after Teixeira had already spent the better half of a decade in the promotion. At 42 years old, Teixeira is the second-oldest champion in UFC history. He has the chance to hold onto that stat on Saturday night.
Prochazka will be fighting to keep a winning streak alive as he looks for a belt this weekend.
Prochazka has picked up 12 consecutive victories since 2016. His path toward a UFC title fight has been quite quick, first joining the promotion only two years back. He won his promotional debut in July 2020, stopping Volkan Oezdemir in the second round with punches.
Prochazka then made a large leap up the UFC ranks in May 2021, securing a second-round finish victory over former title challenger Dominick Reyes.
Favored to win this fight by oddsmakers, the former RIZIN Light Heavyweight Champion has the ability on Saturday night to prove that his quick route for a title fight was warranted with a strong performance. But across from him is a veteran who has already overcome the odds once in a title fight.
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