UFC’s 205-Pound ‘Samurai’ Wants ‘Greatest Challenge’ in First Title Defense

Getty Jiri Prochazka prepares to fight Glover Teixeira.

UFC star Jiri Prochazka is looking to rematch former light heavyweight title holder Glover Teixeira in his first fight as the champion.

Prochazka is coming off a sensational comeback victory over Teixeira, when he dethroned the oldest UFC champion in a close-fought main event contest of UFC 275 in Singapore. Teixeira looked set to come out on top of the judges’ scorecards, but a rear-naked choke submission from “The Czech Samurai” in the final seconds of the outing crushed the Brazilian’s hopes of keeping the strap.

Tim Simpson of Paradigm Sports and manager of Prochazka, shared a major update about the champion’s return to action. Prochazka had previously expressed a desire to take on former champion Jan Blachowicz. Although nothing has been solidified yet with the promotion, Simpson believes his client’s wish to rematch Teixeira would likely be next.

“Nothing has been confirmed on who or when yet, but Jiri came out and expressed he wanted to fight Glover. And, of course, Glover wants the fight back from my understanding of what the UFC wants,” Simpson said (ht MMA Junkie). “Jiri was really open to fighting anybody. We met with the UFC and Jiri was kind of like, ‘What do you want to do?’ It started trending toward Glover.”

Simpson thinks that the bout would happen and reported that they were working towards a concrete date.

“For Jiri to take that challenge again, it says a lot about him. He’s all about challenge. He says it: ‘What is my greatest challenge at this stage?’ I think that’s a fight that will happen, and we’re just kind of closing in on a date.”

Prochazka Wants To Improve His Performance

“BJP” has an unorthodox fighting style, which sees him largely depend on eating a few shots to trade some of his own. While he is a proficient striker, Prochazka showcased his grittiness and heart in the first match with Teixeira, widely considered one of the best light heavyweight fights of all time.

Initially, he was not satisfied with his performance but grew to find a level of pride when looking back.

“Even in the direct aftermath of talking to him inside the cage in Singapore in the octagon, he was disappointed – literally 30 seconds after winning a world title,” Simpson said. “He wasn’t happy with the performance. I think when it really sunk in, he was really proud of himself. As awesome of a fight it was and as much of the heart he showed, he doesn’t want to fight like that. He wants to be clean.”

Teixeira Is Determined To Win the Rematch

Following the razor-thin defeat, Teixeira reflected back on the showing to analyze where he needed to improve. He pointed out his carelessness might have cost him the promotional gold, but stays confident he could change the result in a rematch.

“What I would do differently is I wouldn’t tap,” Teixeira said via Bloody Elbow. “I wouldn’t get submitted. That fight went down my way, so the preparation (for the rematch) will be the same. Of course we’re going to make some adjustments, because he should come back better, too. That’s about it, though.

“If the fight goes down the same way, I’m going to be focused to not to fall into any traps. It was careless, really. Fifth round, I was winning the fight. Nobody expected a submission there. It was really careless.