Glover
Teixeira was less than 30 seconds from successfully defending
his light heavyweight title at UFC 275, but that amount of time
proved to be a relative eternity.
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Teixiera succumbed to a rear-naked choke from Jiri
Prochazka at the 4:32 mark of the fifth round in Saturday’s
main event at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore,
ending his six-fight winning streak in the process. After the
defeat, Teixeira released a brief statement on Instagram in his
native Portuguese.
“We got hit a little bit there but I gave my best in this fight,”
Teixeira said (translation via
MMAFighting.com). “But the hand came in the neck, I was very
tired, and I think I didn’t believe [in the submission]. I should
have turned, but now it’s too late to cry over spilled milk. Live
by the sword, die by the sword.
“I gave my best and it wasn’t enough, but let’s go for the next
one. Thank you to all of you that root for me for the support. I’m
fine, just a few cuts, but let’s go.”
It was the first submission defeat of Teixeira’s 41-fight
professional career. Prior to the finish, the 42-year-old Brazilian
had plenty of moments in which he appeared to have his opponent on
the brink of defeat. It wasn’t meant to be, however, and Teixeira
congratulated Prochazka in a separate social media post.
“Thank you for [an] amazing fight,” he wrote. “Today was your
day…enjoy it.”