One thing is certain: Jiri Prochazka earned his status as UFC champion.
The 29-year-old light heavyweight submitted Glover Teixeira with 28 seconds left in the fifth round of their thrilling championship bout Saturday at UFC 275. Prochazka (29-3-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) sunk in a rear-naked choke on Teixeira (33-8 MMA, 16-6 UFC) to get what seemed like an improbable tap.
Prochazka remained unbeaten in the UFC and crowned himself light heavyweight champion after just three fights with the promotion. The bout against Teixeira was a dramatic, all-out war that had many ups and downs for both fighters.
In the first two rounds, Prochazka had success on the feet and looked to be the faster and more explosive fighter. However, that would only work in his favor early in the rounds as Teixeira eventually closed the distance and took the fight to the ground using his single-leg takedowns. Teixeira was relentless with his ground-and-pound and top control.
The third round started very similarly to the first and second. Prochazka was able to shine more. He was landing the better shots and hurting Teixeira with speed. But again, two minutes in, Teixeira got a takedown, but this time Prochazka was able to get up and resume carnage on the feet. Teixeira looked to close the distance and find a takedown but was not effective.
On a failed takedown, Prochazka got top position and began to wear on Teixeira with constant ground-and-pound. Prochazka attempted a submission just to get reversed and end up on bottom. Teixeira made the most of the 30 seconds and punished Prochazka with shots, but it was clear Prochazka had done most of the damage that round.
In the fourth, Teixeira clipped Prochazka with a left early and got a takedown. The Brazilian got the mount and dropped heavy shots on Prochazka. He looked to submit Prochazka with an arm-triangle but was unsuccessful in his first attempt. He was reversed and found himself on bottom. From there, Prochazka stayed on top until the bell.
In the final round, Teixeira connected with his cleanest shot of the fight. He wobbled Prochazka with a combination but tried to go for a guillotine choke that failed instead of following up with more strikes. Teixeira ended up on bottom but eventually worked his way back to his feet. It appeared that Teixeira got a second wind as he seemed the fresher fighter. He was connecting hard on Prochazka, but then the momentum seemed to change completely.
Teixeira got a takedown and continued to batter Prochazka on the ground. With a minute left, Prochazka pushed off the cage, reversed the position, and got Teixeira’s back. Without hooks, Prochazka sunk in a rear-naked choke and squeezed until he got the tap. It was an incredible end to one of the best light heavyweight championship fights in recent memory.
With this result, Prochazka extended his winning streak to 13 in a row. The Czech fighter last tasted defeat back in 2016 when he was knocked out by former Strikeforce champion Muhammed Lawal.
On the other hand, Teixeira saw his six-fight winning streak come to an end. The Brazilian hasn’t lost since coming up short in a decision against Corey Anderson back in July 2018. Teixeira was the oldest champion in the UFC at 42 years of age.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 275 results include:
- Jiri Prochazka def. Glover Teixeira via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 5, 4:32 – to win light heavyweight title
- Valentina Shevchenko def. Taila Santos via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46) – to defend women’s flyweight title
- Zhang Weili def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk via knockout (spinning backfist) – Round 2, 2:28
- Jake Matthews def. Andre Fialho via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:24
- Jack Della Maddalena def. Ramazan Emeev via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:32
- Josh Culibao def. Seungwoo Choi via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Hayisaer Maheshate def. Steve Garcia via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:14
- Brendan Allen def. Jacob Malkoun via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Kyung Ho Kang def. Danaa Batgerel via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Silvana Gomez Juarez def. Na Liang via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:22
- Joselyne Edwards def. Ramona Pascual via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
