Prochazka, Zhang Primed For Greater Heights After Stellar UFC 275 Wins

The Singapore Indoor Stadium was witness to highlight reel-worthy moments in the main attraction fights of UFC 275 this past Sunday, June 12 as Zhang Weili and Jiri Prochazka came out with stellar victories as the mixed martial arts (MMA) world stared in awe.

29-year-old Prochazka had the opportunity of a lifetime after he was given the chance to face 10-year UFC veteran and UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira in the main event.

The Czech fighter was thrusted into a war of attrition with the champion as Teixeira was doing everything in his power to keep the belt around his waist.

Teixeira went on to win the first two rounds after a stellar showing of his fearsome ground game and effective striking, but Prochazka bounced back hard in round three which saw judge Clemens Werner award him a 10-8 score.

Feeling that he was behind on the scorecards, Teixeira knew he needed to finish Prochazka which opened him up to some unlikely errors, particularly the ill-advised guillotine choke early in the round which led to another striking exchange on the feet.

Prochazka escaped Teixeira’s mount late in the final round and locked in the rear-naked choke which forced Teixeira to tap out.

“I knew that I would be the champion before the fight, but I never imagined that Glover would be so tough. He showed an amazing performance. But in the hard moments, I will do whatever it takes to win. It's a big satisfaction. I don't think I've realized it yet,” Prochazka said of his victory.

During the post-fight press conference, Prochazka revealed that he was willing to take on whoever is next.

“Doesn't matter if it will be Glover [Teixeira] or Jan [Blachowicz]. For me, it doesn't matter. For the next fight, I swear I will be another fighter, not like that. That was not [a] good performance," he stated.

As for Zhang, she only needed two rounds to put a definitive end to her long-anticipated rematch with Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Taking two years away from the sport, the Polish strawweight knew she had her work cut out for her as she stepped into the cage with Zhang in a repeat of their UFC 248 classic.

However, the first-ever Chinese UFC champion was simply on point at UFC 275 as she made quick work of Jedrzejczyk, ending the night with one of the most violent spinning backfists ever unleashed in the sport of MMA as the Polish came crashing to the mat.

Zhang was quick to give her flowers to her opponent in the post-fight press conference through a translator.

“That was natural, it's something I have trained because I want to be a well-rounded fighter. Joanna is the flag-bearer for this division, I've watched her and I've chased her, that's the objective of mixed martial arts. I learned a lot from my two losses, I think that's the path for a champion," she stressed.

After eight years of dominant performances and stinging losses since joining the UFC, Jedrzejczyk announced that she was retiring from the sport in one of the classiest retirement speeches the sport has seen.

Zhang’s stunning victory over the now-retired Jedrzejczyk has all but assured her of a shot at reclaiming the strawweight title against reigning champion Carla Esparza in her next foray in the cage.