Preview: UFC 275 ‘Teixeira vs. Prochazka’

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Welterweights

Jack Della Maddalena (11-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Ramazan Emeev (20-5, 5-2 UFC)

ODDS: Della Maddalena (-155), Emeev (+135)

This matchmaking for Della Maddalena is either a huge opportunity or a big mistake. The Australian was one of the more entertaining contract winners on the 2021 edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, staying ahead of fellow UFC signee Ange Loosa on the scorecards while showing off his striking acumen. While wrestling defense remains a constant concern with UFC signees from that part of the world, Della Maddalena did show enough to suggest he can hang at a decent level for now, with even more potential upside given that he is just 25 years old. Della Maddalena showed out in his UFC debut against a late replacement in Pete Rodriguez, delivering a win that did not show much that was not already known about the Aussie’s skill. Now comes the hard part. Emeev came to the UFC as a well-tested veteran and immediately became a decision machine inside the Octagon. The Russian’s style is built almost entirely around a few big punches leading into clinches against the fence, where “Gorets” tries to control his opponents. It worked without much issue—outside of a lack of entertainment value—for a few fights, but things do seem to have hit the point of diminishing returns after a 2019 loss to Anthony Rocco Martin. The UFC has consistently matched Emeev with large action fighters who have been able to make his margin of error quite thin between their size and activity. Niklas Stolze put in three rounds of a game effort, and David Zawada and Danny Roberts each took Emeev to split decisions, with Roberts doing so in victory. Emeev should be able to drag Della Maddalena into his type of fight for long swaths of time, and he could score with some powerful strikes given the Australian’s willingness to scrap. However, this looks like yet another fight where the judges will be asked to weigh Emeev’s stretches of control against Della Maddalena’s more potent offensive moments. With the recent trending towards the latter, the pick is Della Maddalena via decision. That may be wishful thinking towards rewarding an entertaining style instead of a neutralizing one.

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Teixeira vs. Prochazka
Shevchenko vs. Santos
Zhang vs. Jedrzejczyk
Kape vs. Bontorin
Della Maddalena vs. Emeev
The Prelims