Unbreakable Jiri Prochazka Submits Glover Teixeira in Classic UFC 275 Headliner

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.

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.

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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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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.

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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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