In a division that has had its share of classic championship battles, Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira added their own chapter to light heavyweight lore in the main event of UFC 275 in Singapore, with Prochazka seizing the 205-pound crown from Teixeira via fifth-round submission in just his third UFC bout.
Prochazka switched stances as the bout began as he looked for openings, but it was the champion who scored early before getting the fight to the mat in the second minute of the fight. On the mat, Teixeira fired off strikes and moved into side control as Prochazka tried to get back to his feet. With a little over two minutes left, the challenger got his wish, but moments later, he was back on the mat, this time with Teixeira in the mount position. The follow-up strikes were thudding, forcing Prochazka to give up his back, but he made it to his feet and fired off a series of ground strikes that were equally damaging before the round ended.
The challenger looked comfortable as round two commenced, and he had success with a variety of striking attacks. In the second minute, a right hand jarred Teixeira and prompted a pair of desperate takedown attempts. Prochazka defended well and kept the assault coming, but out of nowhere, Teixeira put Prochazka down on the mat and now it was the Brazilian’s opportunity to turn on the offense, which he did with a series of elbows that cut Prochazka over the left eye right before the horn sounded.
Prochazka defended Teixeira’s first takedown attempt of round three and again had success with his unorthodox striking. Most notably, a short left that jarred the champion. But just when it looked like Prochazka was going to pull away, Teixeira got a takedown two minutes in. This time, Prochazka got back to his feet quickly and landed a hard body shot on his bloodied foe, and moments later he was unloading strikes on the grounded Teixeira. The champion refuse to back down, though, and with under a minute left, it was Teixeira on top and landing the shots.
After some back and forth striking from the two 205-pounders to start the fourth, Teixeira took Prochazka down in the second minute and went to work, getting into the mount just before the midway point. Teixeira then looked for an arm triangle choke twice. After Prochazka got free, he got into the top position, but then it was Teixeira getting his opponent’s back briefly before another change in position, leaving Prochazka in control at the horn.
A right hand by Teixeira stunned and nearly stopped Prochazka early in the final round, but a subsequent guillotine choke attempt saw the challenger slip out and get his wits back as they grappled on the mat. Once standing, Prochazka fired off shots, but it was Teixeira getting the better of the exchanges, landing another big right midway through the frame before getting another takedown. In the full mount, Teixeira appeared to be in complete control, but it was Prochazka escaping once more, and out of nowhere, he sunk in a rear naked choke that forced a tap out at 4:32 of the fifth round. Wow.
With the win, the 29-year-old Prochazka moves to 29-3-1. The 42-year-old Teixeira falls to 33-8. At the time of the stoppage, Teixeira led on two scorecards, 39-37, 38-37, with the third scorecard reading 38-38 heading into the final round.