UFC 275: Teixeira wants immediate rematch with Prochazka, Smith disagrees

Anthony Smith wants the next light heavyweight title shot over Glover Teixeira.

Glover Teixeira was just hours removed from his Fight of the Night epic with Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275 before the now-former light heavyweight champion called for an immediate rematch.

“Rematch??” Teixeira, who was submitted in the fifth round, posted after the fight.

Scorecards reveal Teixeira was just seconds away from retaining the light heavyweight title as the Brazilian would have likely earned a decision win had he survived the final round of the fight.

Although Teixeira feels entitled to a rematch, former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith couldn’t disagree more.

‘Lionheart’ suffered a brutal stoppage loss to Teixeira in 2020 but has since rebounded with three consecutive stoppage victories to re-enter title contention. The 33-year-old believes he should get the next title shot with a win over Magomed Ankalev on July 30.

“I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but Dana White has already come out and said that Magomed Ankalaev vs. me is a No. 1 contender fight,” Smith said on the UFC 275 post-fight show on ESPN+ (h/t MMA Junkie). “The winner gets a title shot. Dana is the boss. That’s what I think Ankalaev and I both thought was probably going to happen. Jan and Rakic just fought. Rakic was injured. Jan was probably losing that fight up until that injury. Essentially they both lost. That leaves me and Ankalaev. We’ve both been at the top of the division for a long time. I think that’s what’s next.”

Smith makes a compelling case, no doubt, but Teixeira put on a Fight of the Year candidate and should earn a rematch based on that merit alone.

UFC president Dana White wasn’t in attendance for the matchup, but his reaction was caught on camera and posted online.

“He’s f—king choking him... He tapped?!?! No way!!! No f—king way!! Jiri f—king tapped him out! No way! No way! What a f—king fight. What an absolute f—king war, man. Shit, my phone is f—king blowing up.”

Safe to say, the UFC will likely book Prochazka-Teixeira 2 next, and Smith will just have to wait for his title shot.