42-year-old light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira will defend his belt against Jiri Prochazka on May 7, it has been learned ESPNSaturday.
The two fighters have reportedly agreed to a date for that duel at UFC 274. A location has yet to be announced for the event.
Teixeira (33-7) won the belt in October when he defeated Jan Blachowicz by submission at UFC 267. He has won his last six fights, earning his first title shot ahead of Jon Jones in 2014.
For his part, Prochazka (28-3-1) has only fought twice in the octagon since signing with the organization in 2020. He was, however, impressive against Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyez . He won his last 10 fights by K.-O.
Jessica Martinez is an author at Sportish, a publication dedicated to sports news and analysis. She covers various topics related to sports and provides insightful commentary on the latest developments in the world of sports.
The Samurai Night tournament will take place on December 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As part of the card, Japanese former world champion Junto Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs) will make his debut in a new division. He moved up to super bantamweight to face Mexico’s 25-year-old Sebastian Hernandez Reyes (20-0, 18 KOs).
This fight will serve as a preliminary to the meeting between Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani. If they both win in this tournament.
Nakatani was planning a mega fight with another boxer. However, he was later transferred to Inoue’s category.
Junto Nakatani has recently been rightfully considered one of the main stars of boxing and the second Japanese boxer after Naoya Inoue. He was expected to chase the overall championship in his division and then try to reach Naoya. But the plan looked different.
Jesse Rodriguez later said he was negotiating for a fight against Nakatani. There was a preliminary agreement and they even thought about the date of the fight. Jesse had to gain weight for this meeting but there was nothing critical about it but what we saw in the mega fight was crazy.
But then everything changed. Nakatani decided to move up in weight and Rodriguez competed for another title; He knocked out Martinez with a brilliant left jab and held a master class of sorts for his fellow champion.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Junto Nakatani – Sebastian Hernandez
That meeting was postponed, but the fight between Nakatani and Inoue was not. Quite the opposite. The announcement of the Samurai Night tournament actually depends on the two. Everything revolves around their theoretical confrontation. And in the comments the boxers do not hide the fact that they want to continue fighting each other.
However, the issue has not yet been resolved and no agreement has been made. Inoue must maintain his status. And Nakatani needs to make a successful debut in the new league.
Junto will face the undefeated Mexican puncher. Sebastian Hernando Reyes is only 25 years old. He has 18 knockouts in 20 fights and has never lost so far. This is 90% of early victories achieved during a professional career!
Making his debut against a boxer with so many points deserves respect. Moreover, when you have a high-profile challenge ahead of you that can only be lost due to a failed incident in battle. But in boxing you also have to look at what is behind these numbers.
If we look at Hernando Reyes’ record in detail, there is no one who can be compared to Nakatani. And with his opposition too. Armenian Khorsisyan is a good opponent, but nothing more. The Mexican met him at an earlier meeting and won by decision. This was the second fight of his career that did not result in a knockout.
Most of Reyes’ fights took place in Mexico. Only a few are in the US. There is not a single one in Arabia, where the meeting with Nakatani will take place. However, it cannot be said that Junto has an advantage; he also never fought in Saudi Arabia.
I would like to highlight one of Sebastian’s rivals. Saying that this is an indication that the person is ready for such confrontations.
But it doesn’t work.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Sebastian Hernandez
It has many strong rivals. Fighting in Mexico is never very easy because a large percentage of the population likes to both box and watch boxing. And the competition there is perhaps the strongest in the world. Getting such a record in such an environment is an indicator of a good level.
However, there is a difference between a good level and competitors who can claim the championship. Among the losers, Nakatani has enough of that. Unlike your competitor.
This year alone, Junto defeated Ryosuke Nishida and David Cuellar. The first is a former kickboxer and just a strong boxer. He was undefeated, but all Nakatani did was make him submit.
Cuellar, like Junto’s future rival, is Mexican. Quite big, good puncher, young. And also invincible during the meeting. With him in the ring, the Japanese won in three rounds.
That doesn’t mean Nakatani’s next opponent has no chance. Junto is not some kind of killing machine or invincible boxer. He makes mistakes, he misses, and he holds up really well until some opponents surrender early.
We are talking only about objective factors that can be evaluated. And they’re all on the Junto’s side.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Junto Nakatani
Who is the favorite?
Nakatani has a crazy lead in the bookmakers’ offers. You can bet on him with odds of 1.06 and on your opponent with odds of 9.40.
There’s a lot of logic in this. At least because of the names. If it wasn’t for Nakatani, would we know about this Mexican? He is one of many people who have no one on record but are in good numbers. Junto made him, if not a star, a boxer who could be said to be Nakatani’s rival.
The main thing now is to prove yourself in this fight. Show the maximum value it currently has. Nakatani can miss a punch; He demonstrated this more than once. And who knows if this will be the final for the Japanese?
But that’s not the point. Inoue’s knockout strikes were long remembered by fans. Everyone remembers who put the Japanese in the ass. Same thing will happen if Nakatani gets knocked down. Especially before a possible match against Naoya.
Of course, the Mexican wants to win and does not go to the ring just for the check. The young, undefeated puncher doesn’t want to serve the count. He needs a win. And that’s great for neutral fans. However, any success with such an assessment of luck will immediately give him the chance to continue winning more in the future.
But Junto is not always in the mood to show off. So it’s interesting how messed up the Mexican can be in the ring against the Japanese until they read him. Or if he reads it.
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.
Ukrainian heavyweight Alexander Usik told how he raises children. The athlete and his wife Ekaterina have four children.
“It seems to me that children need to be forced to do some things until the age of 14-15. Because when they say give the child a choice, he will choose not to do anything.”
“With children, everything is simple: I help them. I must raise my children in such a way that when they reach adulthood, they can live without my help. Yes, I can be somewhere and help them. But so that they also have a job of their own.”
“We need to load them up, give them the language, educate them, travel. You definitely need to do that. Someone says: We can’t travel abroad. This is all nonsense. You can’t go abroad, but you can travel around the country because we have so many beautiful places. Just go somewhere where there is a river or something. The kids see that you are interested in something. I go to training with them, I talk, eat, drink, walk or just sit and watch how they communicate with each other, what they do. Tell them what interests them,” he said. Usik.
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.
British heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora He spoke harshly about Jake Paul’s courage following his fight with Anthony Joshua. In a debate with heavyweight Vidall Riley, Chisora challenged Paul’s argument that he showed courage by entering the ring.
“What Paul did was not brave. He did not go to fight for his country. When he went to defend his state at the front, that is courage.”
What kind of courage is Paul talking about? He ran away in the first round and when he didn’t have enough strength to run, Joshua broke his jaw,” Chisora said.
A big boxing show took place in Miami, USA, on the night of December 19-20, 2025. In the main fight, American entertainer Jake Paul and former world champion Anthony Joshua entered the ring. The fight ended in the sixth round – AJ brutally knocked out his opponent.
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.