What’s next for the stars of UFC 275?

By Cole Shelton - June 13, 2022

The UFC returned to Singapore for the first time since October of 2019 where two titles were on the line at UFC 275.

Jiri Prochazka, Glover Teixeira

In the main event, Glover Teixeira was looking to defend his light heavyweight title for the first time as he took on Jiri Prochazka. In the evenings co-headliner, Valentina Shevchenko was looking to defend her flyweight title against Taila Santos.

In the end, Prochazka won by fifth-round submission to become the new light heavyweight champion. Shevchenko, meanwhile, edged out a very competitive split decision over Santos to defend her belt. After UFC 275, here is what I think should be next for the four fighters involved in the title fights.

Jiri Prochazka

Jiri Prochazka delayed signing with the UFC until he felt he could win the title as he remained in RIZIN and it paid off. He started out his career with back-to-back KO wins over Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes and now topped it off with a submission win over Teixeira at UFC 275 to become the champ.

Given how back-and-forth and entertaining the fight was there is a chance the promotion looks to book an immediate rematch. Yet, before the event even took place, Prochazka told BJPENN.com he thought Jan Blachowicz would be next and that should happen sometime later this year, and hopefully in Europe.

Glover Teixeira

Glover Teixeira had a short-lived title reign but still overcame the odds to even become a champ in the first place. Even though he lost to Prochazka at UFC 275, the Brazilian showed he can still hang with the best and won’t retire anytime soon.

Teixeira will likely need some time off and could return by the end of the year or early next. When he does a fight against the winner of Magomed Ankalaev vs. Anthony Smith makes sense as the winner would get the next title shot.

Valentina Shevchenko

Valentina Shevchenko, Taila Santos

Valentina Shevchenko had a much closer fight than many expected but still remains the flyweight champ. Given it was a split decision, there is a chance the promotion runs this fight back, but if Miesha Tate defeats Lauren Murphy at UFC 276, ‘Cupcake’ will likely get the next shot. If she loses, the winner of Alexa Grasso vs. Vivane Araujo seems like the next contender in line.

Taila Santos

Even though Taila Santos lost to Shevchenko for the belt at UFC 275, she proved she is a legit contender in this division. If she doesn’t get a rematch, she will likely only need a win or two to get the next title shot and a fight against the loser of Grasso-Araujo makes sense for the Brazilian to try and get back into the win column.

What do you think should be next for the stars of UFC 275?


Topics:

Glover Teixeira Jiri Prochazka Taila Santos UFC Valentina Shevchenko