The UFC 275 main card features five bouts, all of which will be previewed in this post. It is headlined by two title bouts. The first is for the women’s flyweight championship between champion Valentina Shevchenko and top contender Taila Santos. The main event is for the men’s light heavyweight title between champion Glover Teixeira and rising Czech star Jiri Prochazka. It will also feature a rematch of 2020’s Fight of the Year between former strawweight champs Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. All win probabilities are based on a fighter’s CC Rating and their place in the CC Rankings.

Jack Della Maddalena vs. Ramazan Emeev (Men’s Welterweight)

Jack Della Maddalena

• Record: 11-2-0
• Division Ranking: 43/81 welterweights
• Vegas Odds: -160 (Favorite)

Ramazan Emeev

• Record: 20-5-0
• Division Ranking: 23/81 welterweights
• Vegas Odds: +135 (Underdog)

Since starting his career 0-2, he’s strung together 11 straight victories, all but one coming by way of stoppage. He made his mark with a show stopping KO in his UFC debut at UFC 270. The Australian prospect is already seeing his stock rise in value early in his career. This will be a much tougher test for him this time around.

Emeev is looking to be part of the long list of successful Dagestani fighters in the UFC. He’s 5-2 overall in the UFC, with his last bout being a tight split decision loss to Danny Roberts. A noted departure from his time as M-1 Global middleweight champion, all seven of Emeev’s UFC fights have gone the distance, dropping his career finishing rate down to 50 percent. He still has the talent to threaten the upper echelons, but at 35, the time to make a move is now.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: Emeev will be more at home in grappling exchanges, whereas Della Maddalena will look for the one-punch finisher. Ten years will separate the men in age, making this a true battle of opposites. Look for Emeev to get in close early and control the fight in the clinch and on the ground until he saps the Australian’s KO power.

Editor’s Pick: Emeev

Jake Matthews vs. Andre Fialho (Men’s Welterweight)

Jake Matthews

• Record: 17-5-0
• Division Ranking: 37/81 welterweights
• Vegas Odds: +120 (Underdog)

Andre Fialho

• Record: 16-4-0
• Division Ranking: 45/81 welterweights
• Vegas Odds: -140 (Favorite)

Despite being just 27, this will be Matthews’ 16th fight inside the UFC octagon. He’s 10-5 in the preceding 15 bouts. Matthews has fought some of the best the welterweight division can offer already in his career. His last time out, he became the latest victim of undefeated welterweight contender, Sean Brady (#11 CC, #9 UFC). It has been almost four years since Matthews scored a finish, but he is a very well-rounded fighter, having a good sprinkling of both KOs and submissions.

Fialho, since he joined the UFC has shown he’s a fighter’s fighter. He has been in the promotion for less than five months and this will already be his fourth bout in the octagon. His debut came against Michel Pereira (NR CC, #14 UFC) on about a week’s notice. He took the fight the distance and even managed to score a round off the dangerous Brazilian. Fialho then turned around with two consecutive first round KO victories, earning Performance of the Night each time. Now, he comes just a month later, ready to go again.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: This will be a fight of the night contender (though the next bout might have something to say about that). Fialho has nuclear power in his hands, but Matthews is more well-rounded. In his debut, Fialho showed he could overcome adversity and adapt. Look for him to shine in his toughest test since the Pereira bout.

Editor’s Pick: Fialho

[2] Zhang Weili vs. [5] Joanna Jedrzejczyk (Women’s Strawweight)

Zhang Weili

• Record: 21-3-0
• Division Ranking: 3/44 strawweights
• Vegas Odds: -175 (Favorite)

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

• Record: 16-4-0
• Division Ranking: 6/44 strawweights
• Vegas Odds: +150 (Underdog)

Zhang (#2 CC, #2 UFC) is coming off back-to-back title fight losses to now-former champion Rose Namajunas (#1 CC, #1 UFC). Prior to her first defeated to “Thug Rose,” Zhang was riding a 21 fight winning streak, that included an incredible 17 finishes (ten KOs, seven submissions). She is still one of the most dangerous forces in this strawweight division and is often described as the most athletic fighter on the roster regardless of gender or weight class. Without Namajunas on top of the strawweight division, Zhang has a clear path back to UFC gold.

However, another former champ will have something to say about that. Jedrzejczyk (#5 CC, NR UFC) comes back after a two-plus year layoff. Her last bout was a split decision loss to Zhang in what is described as the best women’s MMA fight of all-time. Joanna won the strawweight belt back in 2015 and defended it five times before also losing it to Namajunas. Jedrzejczyk is one of the more precise strikers in any weight class and will look to cement her legacy as the greatest strawweight ever by climbing back to the top of the division she once ruled for years.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: It will be near impossible for this bout to live up to what these two women did the last time out. But, if it’s anywhere close, we’re in for a treat. Joanna is a bit of an unknown given her long layoff. Zhang, on the other hand, has looked to clearly be the second best strawweight on the planet (and many could argue she won her rematch with Namajunas). Expect a banger, but for Zhang to win more handily than she did the first time out.

Editor’s Pick: Zhang

[C] Valentina Shevchenko vs. [2] Taila Santos (Women’s Flyweight Championship)

Valentina Shevchenko

• Record: 22-3-0
• Division Ranking: 1/40 flyweights
• Vegas Odds: -625 (Favorite)

Taila Santos

• Record: 19-1-0
• Division Ranking: 3/40 flyweights
• Vegas Odds: +450 (Underdog)

Few people have been as dominant as Valentina Shevchenko since she joined the flyweight division. She is 8-0 as a UFC flyweight, with seven of those wins being for the undisputed gold. Three of her last four defenses have come by TKO victory. She has risen to the top spot in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings and, with a win, will do the same in the Cage Calculus women’s overall rankings. She is an assassin on the feet and has proven lately that she can best opponents on the ground and in the clinch. She is as close to flawless as it gets in the UFC. It’s left many wondering if there’s anyone at 125 that can stop her. She’s run through the best with ease.

Santos (#2 CC, #4 UFC) will certainly have something to say about that. Santos is very dangerous, with ten KOs and three submissions of her own. Santos is on a four-fight win streak, which culminated in a first round KO of Joanne Wood (NR CC, #10 UFC) her last time out. Santos’ lone career blunder was a split decision loss to Mara Romero Borella in her UFC debut. Aside from that, she’s been pretty close to perfect, which is what she’ll need to be to defeat the dominant champion, Shevchenko.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: Back in September, Cage Calculus listed Santos as the top potential contender to take on Shevchenko. That has come to fruition. Santos will be more dangerous than most of the champ’s recent competition. However, Shevchenko is on a different level than almost anyone else. Be confident in Shevchenko, but also remember that anything can happen in the octagon (just ask Julianna Pena), and Santos is dangerous enough to expose any weakness that might open up in the champ’s game.

Editor’s Pick: Shevchenko

[C] Glover Teixeira vs. [3] Jiri Prochazka (Men’s Light Heavyweight Championship)

Glover Teixeira

• Record: 33-7-0
• Division Ranking: 1/40 light heavyweights
• Vegas Odds: +175 (Underdog)

Jiri Prochazka

• Record: 28-3-1
• Division Ranking: 4/40 light heavyweights
• Vegas Odds: -210 (Favorite)

Teixeira provided the feel-good story of 2021 when he became light heavyweight champion at age 42. Now, he will put his belt on the line for the first time as defending champion. Teixeira made his UFC debut at UFC 146 in 2012. He started out on fire, eventually earning a shot at then-champ Jon Jones. Jones made easy work of Teixeira, winning all five rounds unanimously. Teixeira then struggled to regain his footing, going 5-4 over his next nine. However, starting in 2019, he began a resurgence that saw him win five in a row before taking the title away from Jan Blachowicz (#1 CC, #1 UFC). On that six fight win streak, he holds four submissions and one TKO. He’s becoming the best version of himself right at the twilight of his career. He can’t be counted out because of his age anymore.

Coming to put a quick end to Teixeira’s reign is the scary Czech contender, Prochazka (#3 CC, #2 UFC). Prochazka was light heavyweight champ in his native home of Czech Republic. He then accomplished the same feat in Rizin in Japan. Prochazka is an old-school martial artist, but his calm, meditative persona does not sap the dangerous KO power he possesses. He’s delivered two heart-stopping KOs in his two UFC fights that the UFC has already elevated him to a title shot. Prochazka has not been defeated since 2015.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: Despite the highlight reel KOs, Prochazka has shown some holes in his game. Teixeira showed against Blachowicz he can mitigate a powerful opponent. However, Prochazka’s movement will be far more dynamic than Blachowicz’s and his awkward style might genuinely give the champ a look he’s never seen before. If Teixeira gets clipped before he figures it out, it could all be over just as it begins.

Editor’s Pick: Prochazka

Photo Credit: ESPN