The story in the UFC 275 main event between light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira and top contender Jiri Prohazka was that Prochazka had to do her best to stay on the ground if she wanted to become champion. Prochazka threw the story of the cycle, not only surviving on the ground round after round, but eventually pulled his own submission in the last 30 seconds of the battle to win the title in a great battle of all time.
Prochazka had brilliant moments during the match, demonstrating his trademark unorthodox blow to blow Teixeira. But for all the contender’s moments, Teixeira had an answer at every turn, noting takedowns and hitting Prohazka on the ground.
Prohazka was left with a massive cut on her left eye from Teixeira’s large blows from the mount, but every time Teixeira seemed to have taken control, Prohazka found a way out of trouble and got back on her feet. Prohazka not only survived on earth, but at several points in the battle, Prohazka was the man who controlled the floor, landing his own smashing earth and pounds to draw blood from Brazilian legend.
Then came the last round. Once the battle seemed in balance, Teixeira set the battle on the ground and seemed to be in complete control until Prohazka managed to fire the cage and reverse the position. Shockingly, Prochazka saw Teixeira’s bare neck and locked herself in the back goal, squeezing everything she needed to force the shot at 4:32 in the 5th round.
“As I said, before the match I am ready to finish the first or fifth round,” said Prochazka after the battle. “It doesn’t matter. And it doesn’t matter which technique.”
What really created the final could be a specific blow from Prochazka two rounds before. When Teixeira was returned to the cage, Prochazka turned her attention to the body, piercing Teixeira with heavy blows and knees. Teixeira shot for a takedown in despair and fought well, but the work of the body was clearly affected.
Teixeira admitted this after the match, citing heavy weight loss, saying it was not an excuse before saying that the blows to Prochazka’s body weakened his endurance and left him unable to cope with the final submission.
Prochazka have already won 13 consecutive matches, all but one coming after a break. The submission was only the third in Prochazka’s career and the first since 2014.
The fight with Teixeira was only the third for Prochazka in the UFC, making him one of the fastest in UFC history to ever win a title.
Teixeira said after the match that she planned to fight, to the applause of the Singaporean crowd. The loss interrupted a series of six victories for the 42-year-old footballer, who, unlike Prochazka, took 21 battles in the octagon to become world champion.
CBS Sports was with you all the way on Saturday, presenting all the results and highlights from UFC 275 below.
UFC 275 map and results
- Jiri Prohazka def. Glover Teixeira (c) by submission in the fifth round (suffocation from behind)
- Valentina Shevchenko (c) def. Waist Santos by separate decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46)
- Jan Weili def. Joanna Jejejczyk by technical knockout in the second round (rotating fist)
- Jake Matthews Def. Andre Fialo by technical knockout in the second round (shots)
- Jack Della Madalena def. Ramazan Emeev by technical knockout in the first round (strikes)
- Josh Coulibao def. Seungwoo Choi through a separate solution (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Hayisaer Maheshate def. Steve Garcia by knockout in the first round (kick)
- Brendan Allen Def. Jacob Malkun with unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Kyung Ho Kang def. Danae Batgerel with unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Silvana Gomez Juarez won. Liang Na by technical knockout in the first round (punches)
- Jocelyn Edwards def. Ramona Pascual with unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Add Comment