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Why Prochazka-Teixeira 2 is fight to make

Jeff Bottari / UFC / Getty

Another UFC event is in the books.

Jiri Prochazka won the light heavyweight title, Valentina Shevchenko fended off another challenger (barely), and a former champion returned to the win column with a huge knockout.

Here's what should come next for UFC 275's notable winners.

Jiri Prochazka

Jeff Bottari / UFC / Getty

Defeated: Glover Teixeira via fifth-round submission
Should fight: Glover Teixeira

An immediate rematch in MMA is unnecessary 99 times out of 100. But here, it makes all the sense in the world.

For starters, who wouldn't want to see Prochazka and Teixeira square off again? They're in a clear lead for "Fight of the Year" right now, and the pair arguably delivered one of the greatest title bouts in UFC history. Just think about all those momentum swings.

Furthermore, Teixeira was 28 seconds - yes, less than a half-minute - away from retaining his title. Late in the fifth round, he was in control. Teixeira had outlasted Prochazka in a back-and-forth battle. And then suddenly, he was tapping to a rear-naked choke.

Prochazka deserves a ton of credit for pulling off an incredible comeback and becoming the first to submit Teixeira. But after coming so close to winning, Teixeira deserves a chance to get the title back - even if he wasn't a dominant champion. This also gives Prochazka, who was disappointed with his performance, an opportunity to produce a more dominant effort against Teixeira as his title reign gets into full swing.

Besides, is anyone clamoring to see Prochazka defend against Jan Blachowicz? Sure, Blachowicz bounced back from his title loss to Teixeira with a victory over Aleksandar Rakic, but Blachowicz won because Rakic blew out his knee. It's not as if Blachowicz has won three in a row and has an overly strong argument for a title shot. So, book him against the winner of Magomed Ankalaev versus Anthony Smith to decide who gets either Prochazka or Teixeira. No one would complain about that.

When a fight warrants a rematch, it's usually advantageous to wait. Think about the second Israel Adesanya versus Robert Whittaker matchup in February - more than two years separated the two fights. The UFC let Whittaker work his way back up and allowed the division to breathe. The rematch was much bigger than it would've been five months after the first fight.

But with Prochazka-Teixeira 2, there's a big reason you run it back right away: The UFC doesn't have time to wait. At 42 years old, Teixeira could be in his final year as a professional fighter, and Prochazka, as talented as he is, might find it difficult to stick around at the top for long.

So, as they say, strike while the iron is hot. Because it's going to get cold quickly.

Valentina Shevchenko

Jeff Bottari / UFC / Getty

Defeated: Taila Santos via split decision
Should fight: Miesha Tate if she beats Lauren Murphy

Many people want to see a Shevchenko-Santos rematch right away because Santos gave the pound-for-pound queen her toughest fight yet as champion. But commonly in this situation, letting that matchup marinate a bit would help.

Shevchenko and Santos will likely meet again eventually. But Santos should get a win or two to build up the rematch and make people anticipate it even more. There's no rush to schedule it.

As Shevchenko continues to clean out the women's flyweight division, a big matchup with former bantamweight champ Miesha Tate could soon be on her radar.

Tate is dropping down to 125 pounds for the first time in her career and will debut in the division against former title challenger and No. 2-ranked contender Lauren Murphy at UFC 276 on July 2.

Should Tate get past Murphy - which is far from a given - she would arguably be the most deserving of a title shot and certainly the biggest name in the top 10. There is little doubt that the UFC wants Shevchenko-Tate next.

If Murphy spoils Tate's flyweight debut, the winner of the September bout between Katlyn Chookagian and Manon Fiorot - especially if it's Fiorot - would work, too.

Zhang Weili

Yong Teck Lim / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Defeated: Joanna Jedrzejczyk via second-round knockout
Should fight: Carla Esparza

Zhang's win over Jedrzejczyk was the most convincing argument she could've made to be next in line for a shot at Esparza's UFC strawweight belt.

Yes, "Magnum" has only fought once since losing to Rose Namajunas twice in a row. But it doesn't matter - she looked like the best 115-pound fighter in the world Saturday, and that, more than anything, is why she deserves another opportunity to win back the title she held from 2019-21.

Zhang looked a lot better in the Jedrzejczyk fight than in her rematch with Namajunas last November, which Namajunas won by split decision. Perhaps Jedrzejczyk's two-year layoff played into Zhang's dominant win, but the 32-year-old also deserves credit for making improvements to her game.

Heading into the Zhang-Jedrzejczyk rematch, UFC president Dana White said the winner would get a title shot. Hopefully, that comes to fruition.

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