We're Back With Another LineStar Weekly Knockout!

Written by LineStar contributor, combat sports enthusiast, and practitioner, Chris Guy.

Instagram: @therealsethgeko & Twitter: @DadHallOfFamer

Main Card

Jiri Prochazka (-210) vs Glover Teixeira (+165)

Prochazka: DK: $k | Teixeira: DK:$k

UFC 275 will be a race against the clock. Glover’s nointeen fights and a decade of experience inside the Octagon earned him the fastest lap time and subsequently the lead pole position. Jiri Prochazka’s mere two fights inside the Octagon and fairly untested ground game will force him to draft from the back of the pack. This race, however, will be far from the grinding three-hour five hundred mile Indy 500. It will be more like Bob Glidden’s red Motorcraft stock car and John Force’s green Castrol GTX funny car firing down a quarter-mile track in mere seconds. Can Glover Teixeira take down Jiri Prochazka and submit him before Glover gets KO’d?

Since turning forty, Glover Teixeira is up 3-0 in a best of seven series against Father Time. Against Anthony Smith, Glover beat the hour hand into a bloody pulp and even apologized for the ass whooping he was administering, mid-ass whooping. Glover then faced the wild Thiago Santos and strangled the minute hand until it turned into Chong Li, yelling “Matte!” The more elusive minute hand suffered a similar fate when Glover won the belt, submitting Jan Blachowicz in less than two rounds.

Glover will make his first title defense as the official Tom Brady of MMA. Many (meaning me) predicted years ago that Glover would fall off a cliff and cease to be competitive before he ever got another shot at the belt. They (me) were wrong. Their (my) doubt was always rooted in the fact that Glover, like Charles Oliveira, almost loses every fight he wins. At some point in many Glover Teixeira fights (except against Blachowicz), he looks like he’s walking on hot coals. As soon as the bell rings, Glover looks like a teetering Jenga tower; you never know which grazing or missed punch will send him toppling over.

But Glover holds a patent on the zombie takedown technique and exclusive-use rights. The zombie takedown is initiated when Glover’s rocked, looking like he’s cruising around the mall in a pair of Heelys. He stumbles forward with his arms outstretched, latches on to the opponent, and drags them to the mat. It works every fookin’ time.

Teixeira remained competitive heading into his forties because he switched his style up out of necessity. He did what Carmelo Anthony refused to do when he left the Knicks and led to Carmelo looking at semi-retirement before the Blazers gave him shot. Carmelo didn’t want to accept a new role coming off the bench, not being THE guy. Teixeira went from a striking-first style to a grapple-first style, essentially accepting his role as a sixth man to remain relevant. Since being KO’d by Alexander Gustafsson in 2017, Glover has won seven of eight and is currently riding a six-fight winning streak; five of the six came by finish.

Glover used to have heavy hands and unrelenting pressure on the feet and would force his way on the inside and unload with short chopping hooks. But those days are long gone. He no longer has the hand speed to get inside, and he mostly has to commit to eating punches to close the distance to initiate the clinch or a single leg. But when Glover gets the fight to the mat, he shines, and very few fighters can match his grappling prowess. It’s like fighters just quit when Glover gets on top of them. They take their pogs and slammers and go home. Suddenly they don’t want to win as badly as they once thought they did. Glover’s keys to victory: Avoiding prolonged exchanges on the feet and selling out for takedowns. It’s unlikely Teixeira will successfully navigate around Jiri’s power and unpredictable strikes for twenty-five minutes. Especially when it’s likely every round will begin with Glover doing the Griddy before he breaks into the Thriller zombie shuffle. But you can make the argument Glover is most dangerous when he’s hurt, looking like he’s trying to catch invisible butterflies with a catcher’s mitt.

Jiri Prochazka is the modern MMA version of boxing’s “The Drunken Master” Emanuel Augustus. Get on YouTube and check out some Emanuel Augustus fights. No one in the history of the world moved like him. Broken cadences, misdirection, sleight of hand, feinting, angles, footwork like a Jabbawockee; Emanuel Augustus looked like he was dancing in the ring. Floyd Mayweather said Emanuel Augustus was the toughest fight of his career, and that fight was one of the rare occasions that someone was able to hit Floyd consistently in a fight. Little history lesson.

Where a fighter like Dominick Cruz will use a handful of memorized footwork patterns repeatedly, Jiri Prochazka uses improvisation and flows from one stance to another, from one attack to another, in any direction. Jiri is a natural striker from either stance and can switch and counter as he slides out of the pocket, using the opponent’s aggression against them.

Hand position can be a gift and a curse. Fundamental striking emphasizes keeping your hands up and is the universal foundation to build upon. But carrying the hands low can provide unique advantages, allowing a fighter to throw from angles that you can’t see coming. Prochazka keeps his hands at his waist and has a massive eighty-inch reach; his long punches generate a lot of power, and the odd angles allow him to navigate them around the opponent’s guard. Pay attention when Prochazka plays with his gloves. At first, I thought it was a weird tick or something, but it’s not. It looks like he’s adjusting his gloves, but he uses it as a distraction and will quickly strike when he’s doing it.

Jiri’s hand position also gets him into trouble defensively. He has excellent footwork and head movement, rolling off of punches and pivoting off at angles when the opponent engages, but he also gets hit a lot because he doesn’t use a hand guard at all. In his debut against Volkan Oezdemir, Prochazka got into trouble in the first round. Oezdemir caught Prochazka hanging out in the pocket with his hands down, and Prochazka ate a big punch but survived and went on to win via KO.

Jiri is riding a twelve-fight winning streak that included winning the Rizin light heavyweight world title. He’s only 2-0 in the UFC and is coming off one of the filthiest spinning back elbow KO’s you’ll ever see. Against Dominick Reyes, Jiri came out looking like a Yankee Candle; his hair tied in a tight vertical ponytail and got into a hell of a firefight. It was far from a flawless victory for Jiri, and Reyes had Jiri hurt multiple times, but overall, Jiri battered Reyes before shutting his lights off like the power company.

The key for Jiri will be dominating range with long distance strikes and staying off the cage. He has to control the open mat and not allow Glover to trap him against the cage and get hold of him. Jiri needs an early finish, or it will only be a matter of time before Glover drags him to the mat. I can’t imagine Jiri getting back up if Glover gets him down, especially early.

Glover Teixeira at plus money. Glover is coming in as the disrespectful (+170) dog. Other than Darrick Lewis, nobody is a more valuable underdog than Glover. This fight is as simple as can Glover get hold of Prochazka? If he can, he’ll choke Prochazka out in the first two rounds. If, for any reason, Glover can’t get Jiri to the mat, Jiri wins the belt by TKO/KO within the first two rounds. Both of these guys are finishers. Prochazka is 28-3 with twenty-five TKO/KO’s and two subs. Glover is 33-7 with eighteen TKO/KO’s and ten subs.

Last week, Alexander Volkov put the brakes on the main event-losing streak. I’ll forever be grateful. I’ve been thinking about this fight for months and still have no idea who wins. When you find yourself at the YMCA standing on the high dive looking down, there’s only one thing to do, take the plunge. Glover Teixeira, via rear-naked choke, round two.

Winner: Glover Teixeira | Method: Rear-Naked Choke Rd.2

Taila Santos (+400) vs. Valentina Shevchenko (-600)

Santos: DK: $k | Shevchenko: DK: $k

Fighting Valentina Shevchenko is like being Bodhi in the last scene of Point Break. It’s like paddling out toward a one-hundred-foot wave, knowing you’re not coming back. The conversation for female GOAT was officially reopened when Juliana Peña choked out Amanda Nunes. It wasn’t that Nunes lost; it was how Nunes lost that reopened the conversation. Nunes quit, and there’s no possible way I could fathom Shevchenko ever losing in that fashion.

Since losing to Amanda Nunes the second time, Valentina has won eight straight fights and hasn’t even been tested. The crazy thing about Valentina’s run is that the majority of it is due to her grappling. She’s had the highlight reel KO’s like against Jessica Eye, but she has mostly won fights by tripping opponents to the mat and dominating them from the top position, often leading to TKO’s from strikes.

It’s the ultimate gamesmanship. Shevchenko’s most dominant skill is her fight IQ. She could go out and stand and bang with every opponent, but that would be fighting to their strengths and the only hope they have of landing a life-altering strike. No one has had an answer for Shevchenko’s top game. She even had Nunes on the brink of a stoppage in their first fight.

Taila Santos will present Shevchenko with her toughest test since her last meeting with Amanda Nunes. Santos has the size, speed, power, and athletic ability to match Shevchenko. This may be one of the rare times Shevchenko won’t be able to rely on her grappling, at least early in the fight. Shevchenko has short, straight punches with speed to burn and a combination of Taekwondo and traditional Dutch style round kicks. The only holes in her striking are lack of output and reliance on counter striking to mount offense.

Straight punches beat wide punches. Shevchenko has the former, and Santos has the latter. Shevchenko will find success countering Santos’s long wide punches but will also have to put Santos on her heels with pressure and not allow Santos to get het a head of steam, alternating heavy wide bombs.

I don’t know if Taila Santos can go a hard five rounds while treading in deep waters. Shevchenko can, and her grappling will come into play as Santos starts showing signs of slowing down.

Taila Santos is 19-1, the one loss coming by close split decision. She’s 5-1 in the UFC after winning a fight on the Contender Series in 2018. Santos is the first female from the show to earn a title shot. She has ten wins via TKO/KO and three by sub. Her most recent fight against Joanne Wood was Taila’s first finish in the UFC. She straight Wayne Brady’d Joanne Wood. “Give me your sandwich, Dave.” Santos overwhelmed Wood with heavy left-right combinations, dropped her, and finished her with strikes from the top.

Taila’s striking style reminds me of Germaine De Randamie. Long, technical kickboxing with whipping hand power. Santos can make this a wild firefight, a fight Shevchenko isn’t used to. The decision to pressure Shevchenko and commit to risking the L to secure the W should be made in the gym long before she steps into the cage. There has to be that conversation with yourself where you promise you won’t hesitate to go for it.

The measurables are nearly even in every category. They both average around three and a half significant strikes landed per minute and roughly two and a half takedowns per fight. I think Taila may try to takedown Shevchenko early and try to put her in a bad position. Above all, pressure should be Taila’s focus. Take the fight to Shevchenko and get her respect early. Plant the seed of doubt, then cultivate it with constant forward pressure and volume.

Easier said than done.

Shevchenko is the usual massive favorite at (-750), and Santos will come in as the (+450) dog. To Taila’s credit, that’s the lowest an underdog has been against Shevchenko in a long time. Santos has a real legitimate path to victory in this one. I don’t think she’s that big of a dog and will cause Shevchenko some concern during the scrap. Santos has the ability to destroy parlays and Fantasy rosters worldwide. But I’m riding with Valentina until the wheels fall off, and we’re grinding on the frame with sparks flying. True story: I tried to name my now ten-month-old daughter Valentina. Valentina Shevchenko via decision.

Winner: Valentina Shevchenko | Method: Decision

Weili Zhang (-175) vs. Joanna Jedzejczyk (+140)

Zhang: DK: $k | Joanna: DK: $k

These ladies ain’t killers but don’t push ‘em. This is a rematch of one of the greatest fights of all time, women or men. The first fight between these two played out like an extended director's cut of Saving Private Ryan’s opening scene. Heavy artillery, anti-aircraft shelling, mortar fire; it was an offensive barrage unlike the world had ever seen before. After the casualties were hauled off and the battlefield cleared, the Octagon was left a smoldering ruin.

So was Joanna’s face. Unrecognizable. Understatement. The last time we saw Joanna in the Octagon, we couldn’t even recognize her. Neither could her iPhone. After too many failed attempts, facial ID locked her out. Bouncers turned her away at the door and threatened to confiscate her fake driver’s license. It was in the third round that Quato from Total Recall made an appearance, growing out of Joanna’s forehead, a deformity that still wouldn’t stop most men from shooting their shot.

I’ve watched the first fight at least half a dozen times, and every single time I think a different fighter won. The exchanges were so even throughout the twenty-five minutes that it was impossible to tell who was landing more frequently. One thing was clear, though; Zhang Weili had the power advantage. Her right hand hurt Joanna in the second round and was the assailant that caused the damage to Joanna’s forehead.

The hand speed of both fighters was even, and for the most part, so was the output. Joanna landed one hundred eighty-six significant strikes to Weili’s one hundred sixty-five. Both women are firefighters who won’t hesitate to extend combinations in the pocket and mix in kicks with their hand combinations.

The key for Joanna this time around will be the southpaw stance. In the first fight, Weili damaged Joanna’s lead leg early, forcing Joanna to switch to her less effective southpaw stance. The curse turned into a blessing because Joanna had success all night long landing her left hand from the goofy-footed stance. Zhang’s major malfunction is that she attacks exclusively up the middle, no angled entries. All night long, Zhang ran into Joanna’s left hand.

The key for Weili will be committing to her wrestling and making this an MMA fight instead of a kickboxing match. Weili’s hands are fast, and at times, she has shown the Frankie Edgar ability to mix level changes off brief combinations. Joanna’s takedown defense is as good as it gets for a striker at eighty-one percent, but it’s not about being successful with the takedowns. It’s about breaking up the flow of the fight, forcing Joanna to burn energy, and giving her something to think about. Weili averages just under two takedowns per fight and only landed one in eight attempts in the first fight. Many of those eight takedown attempts were brief tie-ups in which Weili didn’t really commit to getting Joanna to the mat. Takedowns, whether successful or not, add another variable to the madness in the cage and have to be calculated for.

The only bummer is the fight is only three rounds. This fight should have been the main event three weeks ago instead of Ketlen Vieira vs. Holy Holm. But even in a three-round fight, both women will put up big striking numbers. Joanna averages almost six and a half significant strikes landed per minute, and Weili averages five and a half. I think both ladies have an outside chance at a late finish, but it will likely go the distance. I'm giving the edge two Wieli. The power advantage was clearly on her side in the first matchup, and she's been active since the first meeting, having fought Rose Namajunas twice. Jonna hasn't fought in the two years since the first fight. Zhang Weili via decision.

Winner: Zhang Weili | Method: Decision

Rogerio Bontorin (+185) vs. Manel Kape (-225)

Bontorin: DK: $k | Kape: DK: $k

This is a riches-to-rags-to-riches story for Manel Kape. He was signed to the UFC as the reigning Rizin flyweight champion and served as a backup alternate for the first title fight between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno before Kape even made his debut. He eventually debuted against Alexander Pantoja and belly-flopped off the Olympic platform. Kape rolled into the Octagon with a square of cardboard and a boom box on his shoulder. Instead of fighting, Kape auditioned for the Jabawokees and spent much of the fight dancing around the Octagon. It was much of the same in his re-debut against Matheus Nicolau, and Manel started his UFC career 0-2.

If this were Madden 2021, Manel would have ninety-noine ratings in hand speed, footwork, and takedowns. Some fighters have limited attacks when they switch stances and tend to throw predictable, safe strikes; Kape maintains a full arsenal from both stances. He freezes his opponents in a defensive shell with quick hand combinations and uses the momentarily obscured vision to step off at angles and land shots that they don’t see coming.

Manel has failed to use his wrestling inside the Octagon, but I promise he has it. In Rizin, he even wore wrestling shoes into the cage. Kape’s major malfunction since joining the UFC has been his defense inside the pocket. He often eats big shots because he ends combinations with his hands low and head high. When he exits, he tends to in straight lines without moving his head. He gets caught with heavy counters at the end of his combinations as a result. The key against Rogerio Bontorin will be using his speed and lateral movement to stay on his feet and dominate the open mat.

Rogerio Bontorin’s strength is Jiu-Jitsu. Bontorin has eleven wins via submission and has an affinity for rear-naked chokes. He’s 2-3-1 in the UFC with a win on The Contender Series. Rogerio is a puncher, not a boxer; he just throws heavy, wide bombs and headhunts. All he needs is two sticks to start a firefight, but his path to victory will always be on the mat.

The game plan for Bontorin will be to close the distance behind his reckless wide punches and work takedowns from the clinch. Cage presence will be a big factor. Kape has excellent movement while utilizing peppering shots to circle from the outside. Bontorin will have to cut the cage and trap Kape with hooks to close off the exits. Bontorin is a counter wrestler, meaning he uses level changes to counter forward pressure. He baits fighters forward, and when they engage, he shoots for the legs. Like a boxer will use a check-hook to counter punches, Bontorin will use a check-double leg.

Manel Kape is the (-230) heavy favorite coming in, making Bontorin a live dog at (+185). Bontorin has a specialty, taking the back. If he can force some grappling scrambles and secure Kape’s back, it’s a wrap. This is a very tricky fight for Kape, but at the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, I’m riding with Manel Kape. I think Kape will manage to keep the fight standing and do enough to win a decision with a good shot at a second or third-round TKO. Bontorin will provide value as a possible early submission threat. Manel Kape via decision. On wax.

Winner: Manel Kape  | Method: Decision

Jack Della Maddalena (-165) vs Ramazan Emeev (+135)

Jack: DK: $k | Emeev: DK: $k

This will essentially be a striker vs. wrestler matchup. Last week, I had a guy on Twitter try to tell me that a fighter with a last name that ended in “ov” didn’t have dominant wrestling and had zero idea where I got the notion. You can imagine me laughing like Ray Liotta in Goodfellas with the four-footer loaded as Rinat Fakeretdinov used dominant wrestling to rag-doll his opponent for a full fifteen minutes.

Maybe that guy was thinking of Ramazan Emeev with the classic “ev” last name. Ramazan has excellent wrestling and will look to utilize it against the gifted striker Jack Della Maddalena, but his wrestling isn’t quite in the realm of “dominating.” Emeev has excellent takedowns, usually initiated with a level change and finished against the cage, but he has trouble maintaining top position. He averages just shy of two and a half takedowns per fight but often ends up standing and banging for long stretches.

Emeev’s is a grinder on the feet. Clinch and grind. My mind’s telling me no, but my body’s telling me yes. I don’t see nothing wrong with a little clinch and grind. Ramazan likes to blitz forward with wide arching punches and initiate the clinch and body lock against the cage. If Emeev gets the body lock, he’ll hold on to it all the way back to the HoJo. You’ll be at the continental breakfast the next morning buttering your English muffin, and he’ll still be latched on to you. This will serve Emeev well, trying to slow down the hand speed of Maddalena because Emeev will be at a sizeable disadvantage on the feet.

The cross beats the hook. The hook beats the uppercut. And the jab beats them all. The foundation of Jack Della Maddalena’s boxing is his jab. He uses the jab as a multifaceted tool from both stances, using it to measure distance and lead three to four punch combinations. Straight punches also beat wide punches, and Maddalena’s hands are tight and quick to the target. Emeev throws nothing but wide looping hooks, and Maddalena’s short straight strikes will beat Emeev all night long.

Maddalena’s special move is the step-back counter-power hand. From either stance, Jack will slide just outside of his opponent's strikes and counter with a power hand down the middle. Where Jack will run into problems as he climbs the UFC ladder is with his lack of defensive skills. He has zero point zero head movement and doesn’t roll or step off at angles when he exits the pocket. He tends to rely on deflecting punches with his lead shoulder and doesn’t check leg kicks. If I’m Ramazan Emeev, I’m throwing heavy leg kicks early and often.

In two UFC stat-tracked fights, Maddalena averages eight and a half strikes landed per minute. His debut lasted less than three minutes, and the question will be if Maddalena can keep that pace for fifteen minutes against a grinding wrestler like Ramazan Emeev. Maddalena is stepping in as the (-150) favorite and Emeev the (+125) dog. Maddalena will provide the finishing threat, having ended ten of his eleven career dubs before the final bell. Ramazan Emeev is 5-2 in the UFC and has yet to finish a fight. On wax, Jack Della Maddalena via decision.

Winner: Jack Della Maddalena | Method: Decision

Prelims

Highlighted Matchup

Jake Matthews (+120) vs Andre Fialho (-150)

Matthews: DK: $k | Fialho: DK: $k

Baby Sinclair is back for the fourth time in 2022. Andre Fialho made his UFC debut in January against Michel Pereira and lost a close competitive fight. He then rebounded with two straight first-round TKO/KO’s against Miguel Baeza and Cameron VanCamp (not related to the fish sticks brand).

Fialho has a nasty left hook that has been clinically proven to induce DMT trips and leaves people in a disoriented state of bliss. The problem for Fialho is that he tends to have to be kick-started with a couple heavy punches to the face before he finds his groove. Jake Matthews will provide Fialho with a tough test both on the mat and on the feet.

Matthews has excellent wrestling/top control and heavy hands on the feet. Jake has typical wrestler striking minus the piston right hand. His right hand is more like an overhand than a cross and isn’t as good at covering distance. But Matthews has heavy power, and Fialho is very hittable.

If Fialho can keep the fight standing, this will be a banger that will likely end with one of them taking a catnap. If Matthews can consistently score takedowns, this one could be a slow grinder. Let's hope for the former. Fourteen of Fialho’s sixteen career wins came by finish, including thirteen TKO/KO’s. Matthews finished eleven of his seventeen career wins, four TKO/KO’s, and seven subs. At (+130), Matthews will be a valuable dog who can control the fight with takedowns and top control. But he has never even sniffed one hundred significant strikes in sixteen UFC fights. Baby Sinclair via TKO, round two.

Winner: Andre Fialho | Method: TKO Rd.2

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Twenty-Ten-Twen Sleeper

I bet the Thunderdome on Dan Ige last week at (+850) for a finish and came up empty. I picked Evloev to win the fight but thought Ige had a real shot at hurting Evloev at some point inside the fifteen minutes...

This week I'm riding with Glover Teixeira. Glover being a (+165) dog against a man with only two fights inside the Octagon is a reflection of Glover's age and not his recent performances. Every time I doubt this dude, he finds a way to pull out the dub. If Jiri's ass touches that mat inside the first round and a half, it's a wrap.

Manel Kape has been kind of a disappointment to me since arriving in the UFC. He's coming off of two straight first-round finishes, but even in his last bout against Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Manel was getting pieced up on the feet in the first round... Until he wasn't. Rogerio Bontorin (+185) has sleeper power, and if connects the way Zhumagulov was against Kape, Bontorin can pull off the upset. And he's a dual-threat if he can find a way to get the fight to the mat and take the back.

On the undercard, Joshua Culibao is stepping in as the (+195) dog against Sueng Woo Choi. Choi has fast, crisp boxing and can overwhelm with his speed, but Culibao is a crafty, sneaky-good fighter who has faced nothing but high-level competition since his debut against Jalin Turner. He almost finished Charles Jourdain in the first round and ended up fighting to a draw. Culibao's loose striking reminds me faintly of BJ Penn, and overall, Culibao has skills everywhere.

Pick 'Em

Brenden Allen (-310) vs. Jacob Malkoun (+240)

Winner: Brenden Allen

 Method: Decision

Seung Woo Choi (-240) vs. Joshua Culibao (+195)

Winner: Joshua Culibao

 Method: Decision

Maheshate Hayisaer (+140) vs. Steve Garcia (-170)

    Winner: Maheshate Hayisaer

 Method: Decision

Kyung Ho Kang (+105) vs. Batgerel Danaa (-135)

    Winner: Batgerel Danaa

 Method: Decision

Na Liang (+120) vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez (-150)

    Winner: Silvana Gomez Juarez

 Method: TKO Rd.2

Ramona Pascual (+135) vs. Joselyne Edwards (-165)

    Winner: Joselyne Edwards

 Method: Decision

Thanks for reading LineStar Weekly Knockout! We'll be back next Thursday with another one. Until then, good luck and support your local MMA Gym.

About Me

My name is Chris Guy, and I’m an avid combat sports enthusiast and practitioner. I’ve been a fan of MMA since the early 2000s when Limewire was still around, and I downloaded Bas Rutten’s Big Book of Combat. In 2004, I started training Muay Thai at City Boxing in San Diego, CA. I competed as an amateur for many years, and I've also dabbled in Jiu-Jitsu. I follow many different disciplines, such as Combat Ji-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Glory Kickboxing, Boxing, and MMA.

I’m equally as enthusiastic about the craft of writing, and in addition to writing about combat sports, I also write short fiction and music. I hope to bring unique prose to sports writing, and along the way, encourage people to not only become Martial Arts fans but to also become Martial Artists themselves.

In the future, you may see me refer to the Thunderdome; it's an ode to the old Mad Max movie and refers to the world-class training facility I built in my one-car garage. It's complete with throw dummies, wrestling mats, heavy bags, and six months' worth of Chef Boyardee cans from when I thought the world was going to end back in March. I hope you enjoy my work, and if you don’t, the Thunderdome has an open door policy.

Check out my Podcast The Whiskey (S)ick Podcast on Apple and Spotify. Parental Advisory Warning