Jiri Prochazka’s manager hints at first title defense: ‘It started trending toward Glover’
Jiri Prochazka will possibly rematch Glover Teixeira in his first outing as a champion.
The reigning light heavyweight king Prochazka pulled off an incredible comeback in the main event title fight of UFC 275 against the former champion Glover Teixeira. In one of the most exciting 205-pound outings in history, Prochazka was not satisfied with his performance. Although he had indicated he would take on former titleholder Jan Blachowicz in his first title defense, he believes running it back with Teixeira would be more meaningful.
Jiri Prochazka’s manager hints first title defense could be against Glover Teixeira
Tim Simpson of Paradigm Sports, Prochazka’s manager talked about his client’s next bout. While nothing appears to have been solidified with the UFC, an immediate rematch with Teixeira looks set.
“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 told 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.
“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 is proud of his performance but wants a cleaner win
In their first outing, Glover seemed to be getting better of Jiri Prochazka. Although Jiri had a few good moments in the match, he would have likely lost had the result gone to the judges’ scorecards. He was initially disappointed with his showing but takes some pride in the heart he showed in the fight.
“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.”
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