Jiri Prochazka never envision Glover Teixeira as UFC title fight opponent

Jiri Prochazka is somewhat in awe of the fact Glover Teixeira will be the man standing across from him when he competes in his first UFC championship bout.

Prochazka (28-3-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who will look to dethrone Teixeira (33-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) of the light heavyweight title in the UFC 275 main event on June 9 in Singapore, was just 10 years old when the Brazilian champion made his professional MMA debut in June 2002.

When Prochazka made his own pro debut in April 2012, Teixeira was just one month shy of making his first walk to the UFC octagon, where he’s exclusively competed over the past decade.

But here they are, now scheduled to be opponents with a 13-year age gap between them. It’s an improbable pairing, and although Teixeira was one of the fighters Prochazka watched as he entered this career path, he is relishing the moment.

“I visualized that I would be the champ – but never to fight with Glover,” Prochazka told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during Monday’s UFC 275 conference call. “It’s here. And I’m happy for that.”

Despite just two UFC fights under his belt, Prochazka enters UFC 275, which takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+, as a moderate betting favorite over the champion.

It’s the tale of Teixeira’s career, though. The 42-year-old has been counted out all the way through a historic rise to UFC gold, but Prochazka is confident he’s a different animal and will cause problems.

Prochazka said he’s focusing heavily on his grappling ahead of his first UFC title shot. Teixeira has the most submission wins in 205-pound history, and if Prochazka is going to fend that off, he said he needs to be perfect.

“I have to be dominant on the ground,” Prochazka said. “Not like other opponents who just are taking Glover’s game and they just start defending. My game is not defending. My game is all the time attacking, all the time taking to be in the dominant positions, form the back, from the half guard – doesn’t matter.”