Pretty much everything was unreal about the fight that took place in Singapore. First of all, it was only his third fight in the UFC for Prochazka. Rarely did someone at the highest level get a chance at a medal faster than Prochazka.
The age difference was also exceptionally large. In the octagon, however, Prochazka and Texeira were quite equal to each other. The champion is considered a jiu-jitsu specialist and has a black belt. Thanks to his qualities on the ground, Texeira was the more dominant factor in the first three laps, although Prochazka remained dangerous.
At the end of the second, Texeira helped the challenger with a sharp elbow from a heavily bleeding flesh wound above the eye. The fight literally went up and down. One moment the two were on the ground frolicking, the next the feet and fists were flying through the air again.
Because of the many body blows to his body, Texeira clearly lacked some energy in the final phase, something he also acknowledged afterwards. Still, he seemed to be able to pull off the win against his much younger opponent, something that was special given his (for fighters) retirement age.
It was striking that in the last two rounds, technically, the roles were completely reversed. Standing up, Texeira was a lot sharper than Prochazka and hit his opponent through the entire cage. Still, he chose to make the fight horizontal. He seemed to choose to take the victory in a professional way, as a ground specialist. It turned out to be a crucial mistake. Prochazka took advantage of a technical error with forty seconds left, threw his arms around Texeira’s neck and let the champion, who now seemed certain of title prolongation, knock on the door with a strangulation for half a minute.
Just like during their battle, where the two hugged each other before the final round as a sign of respect, the appreciation was great afterwards. Prochazka: ,,It was war today. Glover is a real fighter.”
Texeira, who took the title in October after beating Jan Blachowicz, received a standing ovation from the crowd in Singapore afterwards. ,,Jiri is just very strong. I really gave everything. I say it often: I live with a heavy in my hands and will die with a sword in my hands. Do I continue? Did I look old in the cage today? No? Well, then I’ll keep fighting.” It sparked cheers from the fans, who were the big winners anyway.
Valentina Shevchenko
Valentina Shevchenko (34) successfully defended her flyweight title earlier in the evening. However, the champion did not have it easy against 28-year-old Taila Santos. After five rounds, two judges declared her the winner. A third thought the match had ended in a draw.
Zhang Weili
Zhang Weili (32) beat 34-year-old Polish Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the second time. In the second round, the Chinese knocked out the former strawweight champion with a spectacular spinning punch, a so-called spinning backfist. Jedrzejczyk, who was trained in the past by K-1 legend Ernesto Hoost, announced his retirement after the match.
Source: +discovery