5 reasons why Jiri Prochazka will beat Glover Teixeira at UFC 275

#4. Glover Teixeira’s chin has already been cracked on multiple occasions

Glover Teixeira has suffered more than one bad knockout loss over the years

One major factor that could play into Jiri Prochazka’s hands for this fight is the fact that Glover Teixeira certainly doesn’t have a granite chin. In fact, the UFC light heavyweight champion’s chin has been cracked on numerous occasions.

It’d be unfair to claim that Teixeira has a bad chin per say; after all, he’s only suffered three defeats via knockout in his 40-bout career. However, the two most recent knockout losses he suffered were bad ones, as Anthony Johnson completely turned his lights out, while Alexander Gustafsson hurt him violently with a series of uppercuts.

More to the point, Teixeira was also badly hurt by some of his other opponents such as Karl Roberson, Thiago Santos and Corey Anderson, although he did recover to defeat the former two.

So can the Brazilian withstand a heavy shot from ‘Denisa’ this weekend? In all honesty, it feels doubtful.

Not only does Prochazka have a ridiculous total of 25 KO’s or TKO’s to his name, but his finishes of Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes in the octagon were utterly ruthless. It’s hard to imagine him failing to put Teixeira away if he hurts him like Roberson did.

Therefore, it seems likely that we’ll see a title change in UFC 275’s main event.

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#3. Jiri Prochazka’s physical abilities may allow him to keep the fight upright

Jiri Prochazka showed decent scrambling abilities in his pre-UFC career

It’s probably safe to assume that if the fight between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka hits the mat, then the advantage will lie with the Brazilian. After all, Teixeira is one of the most effective grapplers in the history of the UFC light heavyweight division.

The current champion has a total of 10 submission wins in his MMA career, including seven inside the octagon, and his ability to destroy an opponent from top position is second to none right now.

However, to defeat an opponent on the mat, a fighter has to get them down in the first place, and doing that might not be so easy for Teixeira in this fight.

Sure, we haven’t really seen Prochazka’s takedown defense at work in the UFC thus far. He’s only had two fights there after all. But judging on his prior bouts, he’s more than capable of not only defending a shot, but of scrambling free from a bad position on the ground too.

The Czech fighter does not come from a strong amateur wrestling background, but his phenomenal athleticism and physical abilities seem to allow him to escape positions that would doom other fighters.

More to the point, Teixeira isn’t a tremendous wrestler in his own right, as he holds a takedown accuracy rate of just 39%, and averages just over two takedowns per 15 minutes inside the octagon.

Essentially, if Teixeira can get Prochazka down, he can win this fight, but there are very real question marks over whether he can do that, giving ‘Denisa’ the advantage.