Glover Teixeira is set to make the first defense of his light heavyweight championship. Teixeira will take on top contender Jiri Prochazka in the main event of UFC 274 on May 7. Prochazka tweeted out a photo of him signing the bout agreement after news of the planned fight was reported by ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Saturday afternoon. No venue or location has been announced for the event.
Teixeira completed his improbable run to the championship this past October, submitting Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267. The win came two days after Teixeira turned 42 years old. Having fought almost every light heavyweight of consequence from his era, Teixeira is now riding a six-fight winning streak.
Teixeira is 16-5 in the UFC Octagon, and had failed to capture the belt in his first opportunity, an April 2014 loss to then-champion Jon Jones. Still, the Brazilian plugged away, only once losing back-to-back fights while retaining relevance in the division until making good on his second chance at a world championship.
Its here! We are going to take the belt, directly! ⚡️🙏🏻⚡️
— Jiri BJP Prochazka (@jiri_bjp) January 22, 2022
7/5 vs @gloverteixeira @ufc pic.twitter.com/91VHj37jTq
In Prochazka, Teixeira faces a dangerous striker who has put together his own impressive run, having won 12 consecutive fights. Included in that streak are wins in his first two UFC fights, brutal knockouts of former title challengers Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes.
Prochazka has not lost a fight since December 2015 and has 28 finishes in 33 career victories.
