Jiri
Prochazka was the last man standing in an extraordinary war of
wills between two of the sport’s most violent competitors.
The 29-year-old Czech submitted Glover
Teixeira with a no-hooks rear-naked choke and laid claim to the
undisputed
Ultimate Fighting Championshiplight heavyweight title in the
UFC 275 headliner on Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in
Kallang, Singapore. Teixeira (33-8, 16-6 UFC) capitulated 4:32 into
Round 5, suffering the first submission defeat of his 41-fight
career.
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Back and forth they went for four-plus rounds, exchanging
takedowns, dominant positions, submission attempts and heavy
leather. Neither man was willing to give in to the pain or
punishment. Teixeira carved out a horrendous gash above his
opponent’s left eye with a savage elbow strike in the second round
before Prochazka (29-3-1, 3-0 UFC) returned the favor in the third,
opening a cut across the bridge of the venerable Brazilian’s
nose.
As they entered Round 5, it was anyone’s fight. Teixeira executed
takedown, achieved full mount and threatened with an arm-triangle
choke. However, Prochazka never considered surrender as an option.
He slipped out of Teixeira’s grasp, wheeled behind him and snuck
his arms in place for the choke. His powerful squeeze and fatigue
combined to do the rest, and they were enough to end Teixeira’s
unlikely reign atop the 205-pound weight class.
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Shevchenko Dodges Santos Bullet
Valentina
Shevchenko retained the undisputed women’s flyweight
championship with a contentious split decision over Taila
Santos in the five-round co-main event. Judge David Lethaby
scored it 48-47 for Santos, while Howard
Hughes and Clemens Werner saw it 48-47 and 49-46 for
Shevchenko. It was the longtime titleholder’s sternest test to date
at 125 pounds.
Santos (19-2, 4-1 UFC) exceeded even the most optimistic
expectations. She steered clear of danger on the feet throughout
the first two rounds and took down Shevchenko on multiple
occasions, all while advancing to her back and threatening with
cranks and chokes. However, the tide started to shift in Round 3,
where the champion benefitted from an inadvertent clash of heads
that resulted in serious swelling around Santos’ right eye.
Shevchenko (23-3, 12-2 UFC) used the challenger’s brush with
misfortune against her in the fourth and fifth rounds, firing left
hands and kicks to her compromised side. Santos fought through the
adversity but could not reclaim the momentum she once held.
Shevchenko secured a takedown midway through Round 5, progressed to
half guard and shut down the Brazilian’s bid to escape.
Shevchenko, 34, will carry a nine-fight winning streak into her
next assignment.
Zhang Stops Jedrzejczyk in Rematch
Two years, three months and five days after their epic first
encounter, Weili Zhang
struck down fellow former champion Joanna
Jedrzejczyk with a spinning backfist in the second round of
their highly anticipated women’s strawweight rematch. Zhang (22-3,
6-2 UFC) drew the curtain 2:28 into Round 2, cementing herself as
the No. 1 contender for reigning 115-pound titleholder Carla
Esparza.
Jedrzejczyk (16-5, 10-5 UFC) never truly established herself. Zhang
overpowered her in the first round, where she struck for a
takedown, battered her with elbow-laced ground-and-pound and
eventually climbed to full mount. Jedrzejczyk survived but only for
a short time. Zhang closed the distance in the middle stanza,
cracked the Polish muay Thai stylist with a short-range elbow and
drew her into a close-quarters exchange. The spinning backfist
found the off button on Jedrzejczyk and sent her into a
fight-ending nosedive to the canvas.
Afterward, Jedrzejczyk announced her intention to retire from mixed
martial arts.
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Prochazka
New-Look Matthews Ambushes Fialho
“The Ultimate Fighter Nations” alum Jake
Matthews rebounded from his March 6 submission loss to the
unbeaten Sean Brady
and wiped out Andre
Fialho with punches in the second round of their welterweight
feature, as he stopped an opponent with strikes for the first time
since November 2015. Fialho (16-5, 2-2 UFC) met his end 2:24 into
Round 2.
The 27-year-old Matthews (18-5, 11-5 UFC) followed through on his
promise to ditch his typically conservative approach. He exchanged
with Fialho on the feet and more often than not beat him to the
punch. A left hook set the
Sanford MMA on unsteady footing in the second round before
Matthews followed up with a right uppercut and overhand right.
Another left hook left Fialho badly dazed and in no condition to
defend himself from the vicious right that scrambled his circuits
soon after.
Matthews has won four of his past five bouts.
Surging Della Maddalena Folds Emeev
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Jack
Della Maddalena put away former M-1 Global
champion Ramazan
Emeev with punches in the first round of their welterweight
showcase. Emeev (20-6, 5-2 UFC) bowed out 2:32 into Round 1, as he
was finished for the first time in nearly eight years.
Della Maddalena (12-2, 2-0 UFC) scrambled out of a takedown, freed
himself from an anaconda choke, returned to his feet and went to
work with his hands. He pressed Emeev into the fence with punches
and cut loose with a pair of left hooks to the body, the second of
which forced him to turtle downward in a kneeling, submissive
posture. Unanswered punches followed, and referee John Sharp was
left no choice but to intervene.
The 25-year-old Della Maddalena has rattled off 12 consecutive
victories.
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