Tag: UFC on ESPN+ 40

Dana White, Jan Blachowicz open door for Glover Teixeira title shot after UFC on ESPN+ 40

Dana White admits he might have to rethink Israel Adesanya’s title shot after Glover Teixeira’s win at UFC on ESPN+ 40.

Should [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag] get the next UFC light heavyweight title shot against [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag]? That’s the question coming out of his main event win at UFC on ESPN+ 40.

Teixeira (32-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) beat Thiago Santos (21-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) in Saturday’s light heavyweight headliner at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, netting a fourth-round TKO to extend his winning streak to five fights.

At 41, Teixeira is in the best form of his career. He made a passionate plea to be the next man to challenge reigning 205-pound titleholder [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag], but the promotion announced just one week ago that middleweight champ [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] is on deck as he pursues a second belt.

It’s possible Teixeira’s performance could serve as a game-changer, though. UFC president Dana White said after the event that Teixeira has forced him to rethink the situation.

“I was sitting listening to him give his interview – he’s not wrong,” White told Laura Sanko on the UFC on ESPN+ 40 post-fight show. “It’s like, ‘I deserve the shot, I’ve been here forever.’ He’s on a streak, he looked great tonight. What’s funny is, every time I count this guy and think that I don’t know if you got it in you, he proves me wrong. He looked incredible tonight.”

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Blachowicz weighed in on the situation, and he didn’t rule out the possibility of fighting Teixeira next. According to the Polish titleholder, he’s not able to fight before March due to the impending arrival of his first child early next year.

If for some reason the timelines don’t matchup, Blachowicz wrote on social media that he’d be willing to change course and fight the Brazilian (via Twitter):

Great fight and incredible run by @gloverteixeira. You totally deserve to fight for the title and get taste of the #LegendaryPolishPower.

If Adesanya can’t wait till March, let’s go 👊 #UFCVegas13

There’s seemingly no definitive plan set for Blachowicz’s next fight. That’s good news for Teixeira, and White reiterated he’s got some thinking to do.

“That’s something we need to figure out,” White said. “But I heard him and I agree with him and I’m taking him serious. So, yeah. I’m not going to doubt this guy any more.”

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UFC on ESPN+ 40 bonuses: Find out who took home $50,000 after exciting night

The UFC handed out $200,000 worth of bonuses following an exciting night of fight in Las Vegas.

The UFC handed out four $50,000 post-fight bonuses Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 40 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It was an evening with memorable finishes and some exciting fights that went the distance, and as such, the company went with one “Fight of the Night” award and two “Performance of the Night” honors.

UFC officials announced the winners following the event. Check out them out below.

Twitter reacts to Glover Teixeira’s thrilling submission of Thiago Santos at UFC on ESPN+ 40

See the top Twitter reactions to Glover Teixeira’s submission win over Thiago Santos in the UFC on ESPN+ 40 main event.

[autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag] continued to show career-best form on Saturday when he beat [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN+ 40 main event.

Teixeira (32-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) extended his winning streak to five consecutive fights when he beat Santos (21-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) by third-round submission in the matchup of light heavyweight contenders, which took place at UFC Apex and streamed on ESPN+.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Teixeira’s victory over Santos at UFC on ESPN+ 40.

UFC on ESPN+ 40 results: Glover Teixeira submits Thiago Santos for fifth straight win

Don’t look now, but the ageless Glover Teixeira is once again a legit contender for the UFC light heavyweight title.

[autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag]’s late career run has gone from an interesting sidelight to one of the great ongoing stories in MMA.

The light heavyweight, who recently turned 41, marked himself as a serious contender for the belt held by Jan Blachowicz with a sensational victory over former title challenger [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] on Saturday night in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 40.

Teixeira (32-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) absorbed onslaughts from Santos (21-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) that would have stopped lesser fighters in both the first and third round before finishing his fellow Brazilian with a rear-naked choke. The time of the stoppage at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas was the 1:49 mark of the third round.

Teixiera has won five consecutive bouts, four by finish.

Santos got off to a flying start as he dropped Teixeira with one of his first shots of the fight. He followed up with a hellacious flurry on the ground. Teixeira, however, managed to get his wits back about him right when it seemed Santos was going to make an easy night, got back into the fight, and managed to score a takedown and turn the fight in his favor. Teixeira worked in half guard and side control the rest of the way, landing punches and elbows throughout.

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The second was more of the same, as Teixeira shot for a double in the opening seconds and got it, then continued working him over in what appeared to be a 10-8 round. Teixeira sunk in a tight rear-naked choke and Santos was saved by the horn, needing several seconds to recover before he could get up and go back to his corner.

Santos had one more run left in him. He dropped Teixeira with a hellacious left hook in the pocket and followed up with big strikes on the ground to start the third. But he gassed, and as soon as he had his opening, the veteran grappler reversed position on Santos, once again got a rear-naked choke, and this time, Santos was quick to tap.

The win was the 27th career finish for Teixeira, and the man who got a light heavyweight title shot in 2014 made his pitch for another in 2021.

“Five fights in a row beating the same guys, it’s not easy,” he said in his post-fight interview. “Give me the title shot, man.”

The light heavyweight bout was the UFC on ESPN+ 40 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

Complete UFC on ESPN+ 40 results:

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UFC on ESPN+ 40 results: Andrei Arlovski upsets Tanner Boser for 19th UFC win

Former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski showed he still has life in him at age 41 when he upset Tanner Boser at UFC on ESPN+ 40.

Former UFC heavyweight champ [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag] showed he still has life in him at age 41 when he beat a surging contender in [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag] on Saturday night at UFC on ESPN+ 40.

It was far from the most entertaining affair, but Arlovski (30-19 MMA, 19-13 UFC) did a little bit more over the course of three rounds to net a unanimous decision victory over Boser (19-7-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) by 29-28 scorecards across the board at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Both men were tentative in the opening moments of the fight until Boser struck first with a pair of leg kicks. Arlovski failed to land a strike in the first two-and-a-half minutes, and Boser was content to circle and look to counter the few opportunities he received. Arlovski started to work the legs with kicks of his own, then mixed some attacks to the head that missed. Boser gave some kicks back down the stretch, but the fist round was dull by any measure.

Boser came out applying a touch more pressure in the second frame, but Arlovski remained calm in hopes of finding a perfect opening. He nearly landed a hook kick to the face, then tagged Boser during a rare exchange. Arlovski landed a straight right hand, then Arlovski came back with a looping left of his own for his best strike of the round. Both men remained cautious for most of the fight, as nothing that caused visible damage landed though 10 minutes.

With the bout up for grabs going into the third frame, Arlovski and Boser picked up to the pace in the early stages. They both connected with a number of hard low kicks and upped the punching output. Arlovski landed a hard straight right with roughly three minutes remaining then came forward with a left hand. Boser stayed focused on attacking the legs over and over, but Arlovski took it all and worked his game. He threw multiple strikes at a time, landing a big one to back Boser up. He couldn’t capitalize, though, and the same sequences played out until the final bell.

Arlovski, who made his UFC debut 20 years ago this month, became the eighth fighter in company history to reach 19 victories inside the octagon.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 40 results include:

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UFC on ESPN+ 40 video: Giga Chikadze goes to 4-0 in 2020 with head-kick finish

Giga Chikadze continued to make 2020 a special year with a highlight-reel knockout at UFC on ESPN+ 40.

[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] continued to make 2020 his special year with a highlight-reel knockout on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 40.

Chikadze (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) remained undefeated inside the octagon and improved to 4-0 on the year when he stopped late-notice opponent Jamey Simmons (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with a knockout in the first round.

After fending off some takedown attempts from Simmons, the opportunity for Chikadze to strike arrives, and he unleashed a big head kick that instantly sent his opponent to the canvas. He swarmed with some follow-up shots, and referee Herb Dean stepped in at the 3:51 mark of Round 1.

Check out the replay of Chikadze’s finish below (via Twitter):

With the victory, Chikadze has won seven straight fights. The former GLORY kickboxing fighter has thrived this year, beating Simmons, Omar Morales, Irwin Rivera and Jamall Emmers. The latest win was particularly special, though, because it was his first finish under the UFC banner.

“I’ve been waiting for this for long, long time,” Chikadze said in his post-fight interview. “I think I deserve it. I’m just enjoying this moment. This year it’s been my fourth fight, I’m glad I made a KO today. I want at least one co-main, or maybe main event.”

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UFC on ESPN+ 40 results: Yan Xiaonan outpoints Claudia Gadelha for 11th straight win

China boasts both the UFC strawweight champion and the woman who holds the division’s longest active winning streak.

Zhang Weili isn’t the only major player in the UFC strawweight division out of China.

Weili holds the belt, but Beijing’s [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] announced herself as a serious contender at 115 pounds Saturday night with her biggest win to date.

Xiaonan (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) rallied over the final two rounds to earn a unanimous decision over former title challenger [autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] in the main-card opener of UFC on ESPN+ 40. The judges’ scores at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas were 29-28 across the board.

The victory gave Xiaonan her 11th straight win overall and sixth in the UFC, which is the longest active streak in her division.

Gadelha (18-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) has always been known to push a fast pace, and it was no different Saturday. Gadelha controlled the tempo in the opening stanza with a pair of takedowns and got the better end of of the clinch work standing. After the second takedown in the round’s final minute, though, Xiaonan noticeably landed solid elbows from the bottom. And while that wasn’t enough to swing the round, it showed she wasn’t going away.

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Indeed, the second round was much more to Xiaonan’s liking. She outstruck her opponent by a 2-to-1 margin, landing crisp jabs and and answering Gadelha’s single shots with with counter flurries as the latter began to falter

It was clear the fight was still in the balance as the final round wore on, and that it would be a matter of who wanted it more. Gadelha did her best to tie up Xiaonon in the clinch when she could, but never did much of anything with it. Referee Jason Herzog ordered a restart in the final minute, and Xiaonan was the far more active fighter as the seconds ticked off, firing jab after jab in what may have been the deciding sequence of the fight.

Xiaonan outlanded Gadelha in significant strikes over the course of the fight 63-33.

All six of Xiaonan’s UFC wins have been unanimous decisions. Gadelha had a two-fight winning streak snapped and is 3-3 in her past six.

The strawweight bout opened up the UFC on ESPN+ 40 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 40 results include:

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UFC on ESPN+ 40 video: Alexandr Romanov scores rare forearm choke finish

Alexandr Romanov made some history in his second octagon appearance at UFC on ESPN+ 40.

[autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag] made some history in his second octagon appearance on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 40.

Romanov (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), an unbeaten heavyweight, put Marcos Rogerio de Lima (17-7-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) out cold at the 4:48 mark of Round 1 in the heavyweight preliminary bout with a rare forearm choke finish.

After taking the fight to the ground in the opening seconds, Romanov overwhelmed de Lima on the mat. He did some good work from half guard with the strikes, then pressed the forearm into de Lima’s throat until the Brazilian went to sleep.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):

Following the successful performance, Romanov made it clear who he wants next. After a previously scratched matchup with Marcin Tybura, the Moldavian fighter expressed his desire to reschedule the bout.

“My work inside the cage is all the help of my team and my family,” Romanov said in his post-fight interview. “I want to say that I have a question in the cage in the UFC with Marcin Tybura. If it’s possible, I want to fight with this guy.”

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UFC on ESPN+ 40 video: Darren Elkins submits Eduardo Garagorri to snap four-fight skid

Veteran Darren Elkins got a crucial win at UFC on ESPN+ 40 when he submitted Eduardo Garagorri.

The skid is over for [autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag].

After dropping four consecutive fights, Elkins (25-9 MMA, 15-8 UFC) was in a must-win situation in Saturday’s featherweight bout with Eduardo Garagorri (13-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 40, which took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“The Damage” delivered, locking up a rear-naked choke in the final round of the bout to get his hand raised for the first time since January 2018.

Watch the replay of Elkins’ finish below (via Twitter):

Prior to submitting Garagorri, it was a vintage Elkins performance. He had some issues on the feet, but was consistently relentless with his grappling pressure. Garagorri showed some great resistance, but ultimately he couldn’t fend Elkins off and got choked.

With the victory, Elkins takes sole possession for second-most wins in UFC featherweight history with 14. Only former champion Max Holloway has more with 16.

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