[autotag]Glover Teixeria[/autotag] accomplished the unthinkable on Saturday evening.
Just two days after his 42nd birthday, the Brazilian light heavyweight entered his second UFC title fight, and shocked the world by tapping Jan Blachowicz in the second round.
The light heavyweight title bout was the UFC 267 main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. It streamed on ESPN+.
Blachowicz (28-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) opened up with a hard leg kick as Teixeira (33-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) pressured forward to close the distance. Seconds later, Teixeira shot in for a double leg takedown and got the champ to the canvas in the center of the cage just 40 seconds in to the fight.
HUUUUUGE early takedown for @GloverTeixeira 😤
[ #UFC267 | Tune in LIVE on @ESPNPlus | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/cNJiBbWlYp
— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2021
From his back, Blachowicz closed his guard and did well to defend the strike attempts from the challenger. Teixeira stayed heavy and even tried a pair of can openers to put pressure on the neck of the champ. A majority of the round was spent with Teixeira on top.
Blachowicz let his hands go early in the second round as Teixeira looked to bring the fight to the canvas again. This time, the champ was ready for the takedown and was able to keep the fight standing, where he would continue to find a home for crisp punches. However, Teixeira landed a hard left hand to wobble the champ and would complete a takedown a few moments later.
Once on the canvas again, Teixeira quickly transitioned to back mount, flattened out Blachowicz, and landed a couple of punches. The Brazilian then quickly slapped on a rear-naked choke and forced Blachowicz to tap out.
UNDISPUTED CHAMP AT 42 YEARS OLD!!!! 🏆
[ #UFC267 | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/yyxWjAqexp
— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2021
“20 years baby, I have no words to describe it,” Teixeira told Daniel Cormier during his post-fight interview. “I keep breaking the rules at 42 years old and I’m going to keep breaking the rules.”
Teixeira’s crowning moment comes as his win streak extends to six. The Brazilian put together three straight wins in 2019, followed by two stoppages in 2020 to earn his shot at the title. In his 40th professional bout and perhaps his last chance at claiming UFC gold, Teixeira achieved his career-long dream of becoming UFC champ.
Blachowicz’s five-fight win streak comes to an end, while dropping the light heavyweight title he defended once. At UFC 253, Blachowicz claimed the vacant title by finishing Dominick Reyes and defended by defeating middleweight champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 259. Saturday’s loss marks his first since February 2019.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 267 results include:
- Glover Teixeira def. Jan Blachowicz via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:02
- Petr Yan def. Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
- Islam Makhachev def. Dan Hooker via submission (kimura) – Round 1, 2:25
- Alexander Volkov def. Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Khamzat Chimaev def. Li Jingliang via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:16
- Magomed Ankalaev def. Volkan Oezdemir via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Amanda Ribas def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Zubaira Tukhugov def. Ricardo Ramos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Albert Duraev def. Roman Kopylov via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Benoit Saint-Denis via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-26)
- Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Shamil Gamzatov via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:31
- Lerone Murphy def. Makwan Amirkhani via knockout (knee) – Round 2, 0:14
- Andre Petroski def. Hu Yaozong via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 4:46
- Tagir Ulanbekov def. Allan Nascimento via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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