Jamahal
Hill showed his quality and then some.
“Sweet Dreams” captured the vacant
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title, as he
punished Glover
Teixeira to a clear-cut unanimous decision in the UFC
283 headliner on Saturday at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Hill (12-1, 6-1 UFC), the first
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate to strike UFC gold,
swept the scorecards with 50-44 nods from all three cageside
judges.
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Teixeira (33-9, 16-7 UFC) absorbed a horrific amount of punishment.
Hill shredded the Brazilian’s face with punches, elbows and knees,
opening cuts near both eyes and spilling blood all over the
Octagon. He scrambled Teixeira’s circuits with head kicks on more
than one occasion, switched stances to great effect and kept the
John Hackleman protégé at bay with a potent jab. Hill nearly
finished it in the third round and again in the fourth, but his
Brazilian counterpart refused to go away under the direst
circumstances. Teixeira offered a brief glimmer of hope for his
supporters early in Round 5, where he executed a takedown and
climbed to full mount. However, Hill escaped out the back door and
relied on his jab, superior athleticism and lateral movement to
avoid any further issues.
Afterward, Teixeira announced his retirement from mixed martial
arts.
Moreno Unifies Flyweight Crown
Brandon
Moreno unified the flyweight championship, closed the book on
his historic tetralogy with Deiveson
Figueiredo and forced a doctor stoppage in between the third
and fourth rounds of their co-main event. The result gives Moreno a
2-1-1 advantage in their head-to-head series, which kicked off with
a majority draw two-plus years ago.
The rivals traded takedowns, initiated scrambles and exchanged on
the feet across the first 10 minutes. Figueiredo (21-3-1, 10-3-1
UFC) threatened with a heel hook in the first round and a
guillotine choke in the second, offsetting some of his deficits in
other areas. Everything changed when Moreno (21-6-2, 9-3-2 UFC)
connected with a left hook in Round 3. The impact drew an immediate
reaction out of Figueiredo, resulted in a cut on his cheek and
eventually led to his right eye swelling shut. The cageside
physician examined him between rounds and advised referee Herb Dean to
call for the stoppage.
Moreno, 29, now carries the 125-pound weight class forward, with a
rematch against Alexandre
Pantoja—a man who outpointed him to a unanimous decision in
2018—likely on deck.
Burns Arm-Triangle Subdues Magny
Kill Cliff Fight Club export Gilbert
Burns rebounded from his April 9 decision defeat to Khamzat
Chimaev, as he dispatched “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 16
semifinalist Neil Magny
with an arm-triangle choke in the first round of their welterweight
feature. Magny (27-10, 20-9 UFC) bowed out 4:15 into Round 1.
The 36-year-old Burns (21-5, 14-5 UFC) followed a jab with a
body-lock takedown and let his sensational grappling skills do the
rest. The 2015 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World
Championships bronze medalist moved from half guard to side control
to full mount in a matter of minutes. Once there, he framed the
arm-triangle, cleared his legs and left Magny no choice but to
tap.
Burns has won eight of his past 10 bouts.
Ferocious Andrade Routs Murphy
Crushing leg kicks, vicious punching combinations and airtight
takedown defense carried Parana Vale Tudo’s Jessica
Andrade to a woefully one-sided unanimous decision over former
Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Lauren
Murphy in a three-round women’s flyweight showcase. All three
cageside judges scored it for Andrade (24-9, 15-7 UFC): 30-25,
30-25 and 30-26.
Murphy (16-6, 8-6 UFC) was no match for the Brazilian. Andrade
slammed more than 40 kicks into her lead leg and teed off with
power punches to the head, the scene growing increasingly
uncomfortable as time ticked away. Murphy continued to absorb
punishment without offering much in return. The left hook was the
most lethal of the Andrade weapons, and it found its intended
target repeatedly.
Andrade has rattled off three straight victories since her UFC 261
loss to Valentina
Shevchenko.
Resourceful Walker Smashes Craig
Johnny
Walker put away former British Association of Mixed Martial
Arts champion Paul Craig
with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight
attraction. Walker (20-7, 6-4 UFC) drew the curtain 2:16 into Round
1, winning for the second time in as many outings.
Craig (16-6-1, 8-6-1 UFC) caught a front kick from the Brazilian
but lingered for too long in open space. Walker cracked him with a
wicked right hand while still on one leg and continued to fire
punches at the Scotsman. Craig eventually collapsed to his knees as
he clung to his counterpart’s ankle and was met with a series of
slashing reverse hammerfists that left Goddard no choice but to
intervene.
The 35-year-old Craig has suffered back-to-back defeats for just
the second time in his career.
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UFC 283 Prelims: Debuting Ferreira Stuns Rodrigues