UFC 275 best bets: Side with the champs

Saturday's UFC 275 features a light heavyweight title fight between champion Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka.

Also on the card, women's flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko will defend her title for the seventh time against Taila Santos.

Before the action gets underway at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, here are the two best bets for the event.

Glover Teixeira (+175) vs. Jiri Prochazka

It's rare a UFC champion is favored to lose their belt, but that's Teixeira's reality as he prepares to defend the 205-pound throne for the first time.

It's no surprise Prochazka is the favorite, and frankly, it's understandable why. He's 13 years younger than Teixeira and a beast on the feet.

But at plus-money, it's absolutely worth taking a stab at Teixeira, who, like Prochazka, has a very clear path to victory in this matchup - on the ground.

The Brazilian has made obvious adjustments to his style of fighting in recent years, placing a bigger focus on his ground game as one of the best submission artists in the sport. That decision is largely why he's been able to enjoy a career resurgence and realize his dream of winning the title at the ripe old age of 42.

Prochazka has talked a lot about how he's done nothing but train wrestling and jiu-jitsu since scheduling this title fight - which, hey, that's the right idea when you're fighting Teixeira. But Jan Blachowicz, Thiago Santos, and Ion Cutelaba all knew what they were getting themselves into. Did it matter? No. That's how good Teixeira is at controlling from top position and eventually making his opponent tap.

It wouldn't be a shock if Prochazka gets Teixeira out in the first or second round with an uppercut or a flying knee. But if Teixeira can weather the storm as he did against Santos and many others, the champ will start to take over with his grappling, and Prochazka won't be able to stop him.

Valentina Shevchenko (-600) / Zhang-Jedrzejczyk goes the distance (-250)

$100 parlay to net $63.33

Many think Santos will give Shevchenko the toughest fight of her title reign so far. That's not saying much considering the most Shevchenko has been challenged was when Jennifer Maia held her up against the fence for a brief amount of time and stole one round (yes, Shevchenko still won the fight 49-46).

So, while it's true Santos is in her prime (unlike some of Shevchenko's past opponents), has won 19 of her 20 pro fights, and is quite athletic, Shevchenko still makes for good parlay fodder, even at -600. That's the cheapest price you've been able to get on Shevchenko since she beat Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the vacant title in 2018.

The reality is that Shevchenko is one of the three best fighters in the world, and what Santos brings to the table - a mix of Muay Thai and grappling - won't be enough to pull off what would be one of the biggest upsets of 2022. Shevchenko is going to be quicker and sharper in the stand-up department and should be in control almost the entire time.

The other side of the parlay sees Jedrzejczyk return to action against Zhang Weili in a battle of former strawweight champions and a rematch of their 2020 classic.

Picking a side in this fight proved too difficult with money on the line, so instead, the distance prop seems like a pretty safe bet. Zhang and Jedrzejczyk threw literally everything they could at each other in a five-round thriller last time, and neither went down. With Jedrzejczyk promising a more tactical approach in the rematch - which, it should be noted, is only three rounds - it's fair to assume this matchup is once again going to the judges' scorecards.

Beyond how they match up specifically with each other, the two ex-champs have been historically very difficult to put away. They've been finished once each (looking at you, Rose Namajunas), with their combined five other losses coming via decision. And on the winning side of things, Jedrzejczyk's last six victories were all decisions, while Zhang has three decision wins and two finishes in the UFC.

Ultimately, Zhang-Jedrzejczyk 2 is a competitive fight on paper, so it's unlikely either one will dominate or finish their opponent.

Here are the full odds from theScore Bet for UFC 275 on June 11:

Main card

• Jiri Prochazka (-220) vs. Glover Teixeira (+175)
• Valentina Shevchenko (-600) vs. Taila Santos (+425)
• Zhang Weili (-175) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (+145)
• Andre Fialho (-155) vs. Jake Matthews (+125)
• Jack Della Maddalena (-165) vs. Ramazan Emeev (+135)

Preliminary card

• Seungwoo Choi (-240) vs. Josh Culibao (+190)
• Steve Garcia (-185) vs. Maheshate (+155)
• Brendan Allen (-325) vs. Jacob Malkoun (+255)
• Danaa Batgerel (-130) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (+100)

Early preliminary card

• Silvana Gomez Juarez (-145) vs. Liang Na (+115)
• Joselyne Edwards (-170) vs. Ramona Pascual (+140)