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Champion Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira are running it back. The pair of top light heavyweights will clash at UFC 282 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, Dec. 10.
UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell confirmed the UFC light heavyweight title fight’s booking to Sports Illustrated. It is a rematch of the explosive encounter between Prochazka and Teixeira at UFC 275 in June. Prochazka captured the light heavyweight title via rear-naked choke at 4:32 of Round 5. It was a stunning back-and-forth fight where Teixeira, the premier grappler of the two, lost hold of a fight he was likely en route to winning.
Prochazka (29-3-1) was crowned UFC light heavyweight champion in just his third UFC fight. He knocked out Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oedzemir in his previous two Octagon appearances. The champ has also won 13 fights in a row overall.
Teixeira (33-8) had a career renaissance between 2019 and 2021, winning six straight fights and capturing the UFC title from Jan Blachowicz. At 42 years old, Teixeira became the oldest first-time UFC champion and the second-oldest UFC champion in history, behind Randy Couture.
More UFC news, rumors
- Fellow light heavyweights Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev will compete on the undercard of UFC 282, according to ESPN. Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev will likely produce the next No. 1 contender as they are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The scheduling could allow UFC to slot either Blachowicz or Ankalaev into the main event should Prochazka or Teixeira miss weight or be forced off the card. Blachowicz (29-9) bounced back from his title loss to Teixeira by beating Aleksander Rakic in May. Ankalaev (18-1) has won nine consecutive fights since losing his UFC debut to Paul Craig. He defeated Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos and Oezdemir in his last three fights.
- Alexander Gustafsson continues to try and halt his fall from grace. Gustafsson, who nearly dethroned Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier for UFC light heavyweight titles in the past, has lost his last four fights. Gustafsson meets fellow former title challenger Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 282, per MMA Junkie. Saint Preux is 2-3 in the last two years and is coming off a split-decision win over Mauricio Rua.