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#2. UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka vs. Jan Blachowicz
Jiri Prochazka is the new king of the UFC light heavyweight division after his impressive submission win over Glover Teixeira. He has had a meteoric rise in popularity as he made his promotional debut in 2020 and quickly ascended the ranks.
A logical opponent for his first title defense would be former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. He is coming off a TKO win over Aleksander Rakic after an injury forced a stop to the bout. The win was significant as he bounced back from his title loss to Teixeira and got back into contention.
Blachowicz was in attendance this past weekend and had a great view of ‘Desina’s title win. Following the bout, there was an exchange between the two that the promotion could easily be used to sell the bout. He matches up well with Prochazka as he could hold his own in the striking and takeover on the ground.
#1. Zhang Weili vs. UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza
Former strawweight champion Zhang Weili made a statement with her spectacular knockout at UFC 275. She defeated former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a rematch of their all-time classic in 2020.
Weili ended the bout in devastating fashion by dropping ‘Joanna Champion’ with a perfect spinning back-fist.
‘Magnum’ snapped her two-fight losing streak as she lost her title and the following rematch to Rose Namajunas. She also earned a Performance of the Night bonus and is likely to receive the next title shot against Carla Esparza. It's an interesting matchup because of the improvements made since she lost the title to Namajunas.
Weili has looked noticeably better since working on her wrestling and grappling with former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. She showcased her improvements throughout the bout with Jedrzejczyk as she was able to control her on the ground.
‘Magnum’ also had better takedown defense, which could pose a threat for Esparza when she shoots for takedowns.
