The UFC’s first-ever PPV in Singapore was a total hit with the UFC 275 fight card living up to its expectations. Jiri Prochazka captured the UFC Light Heavyweight Title in dramatic fashion in a 5 round classic against Glover Teixeira. Meanwhile, in the co-main event, UFC women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko was forced to hang on for a disputed split-decision victory. The UFC 275 fight card also saw Weili Zhang knock Joanna Jedrzejczyk out cold with the former strawweight queen announcing her retirement after her loss. Let’s take a deeper look into the results from UFC 275.
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In the opening fight of the main-card, two former UFC Women’s strawweight champions Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk put on a thrilling fight together. Their first fight at UFC 248 rams as one of the greatest fights in history of the strawweight decision and their rematch that took place on Sunday was contested at the same remarkable pace. In the opening round of the fight Jedrzejczyk looked sharp on her return to the octagon, dropping Zhang with a leg kick. But the Chinese martial artist went on to take control once she engaged in grappling. Zhang took Jedrzejczyk down and mauled her with heavy ground-and-pound strikes and it looked as if the referee might call the fight. The Polish international rejected the idea and scrambled her way out of the mount and landed some big blows before the round came to an end. In round 2, Zhang had a different approach and landed some heavy bodyshots. Jedrzejczyk then shucked off a takedown but ate a stiff one-two combination before Zhang stunned her with a spinning backfist right on Jedrzejczyk’s jaw which knocked her out cold. The finish came officially at 2:28 minutes off Round 2 giving Zhang a more definite conclusion to the controversial split-decision win in 2020.
The fight was then followed by an emotional retirement with JJ announcing she was stepping away from mixed martial arts to have kids and run some business.
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Valentina Shevchenko remained the UFC women’s Flyweight Champion on Sunday, but that did not come without a bit of controversy. In the co-main event of UFC 275, Shevcheko turned away Taila Santos in a split-decision victory. It was the first time in her Flyweight career that Shevchenko had to go to the judges for the win as Santos gave her a real challenge with her size advantage and grappling skills. The fight was even-stevens for a long time and the turning point was an unintentional clash of heads that took place in round 4 of the fight. This clash of heads swole Sants’ right eye that nearly got shut and the UFC women’s flyweight champion made the most out of it. From that point on, Shevchenko nestled into the driver’s seat and this late push was enough for the champ to secure a split decision victory with the judges scoring 48-47, 47-48 and 49-46.
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The main-event of the UFC 275 fight card will always be a one to remember as #TheNew UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jiri Prochazka and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Glover Teixeira left it all inside the octagon. Prochazka had brilliant moments throughout the fight in which he showcased his trademark unorthodox striking skills to blast Teixeira. But the former 42-year-old champion Glover Teixeira had an answer for Prochzaka on every occasion by scoring a takedown and bettering him on the canvas. As a result of that heavy ground-and-pound Prochazka was left with a massive cut over his eye but everytime Teixeira appeared to have grabbed control of the fight, the Czech international would find a way out and get back to his feet. Not only was he surviving ground strikes he at times reversed ground control, landing his own ground-and-pound to draw blood from the Brazilian legend.
The final round is undoubtedly one of the best rounds of fighting we have ever witnessed. It started off with the two showing respect to each other by hugging before the two were unleashed for the final five minutes. With the fight seemingly in balance, Teixeira took the fight to the canvas and seemed to be fully in control until Prochazka was able to kick off the cage and reverse the position. Shockingly, Prochazka saw the Brazilian’s neck exposed and licked in a rear-naked choke, squeezing with everything he had in him to force a tap after 4:32 minutes of the final round. The fight with Teixeira was only Prochazka’s third in the UFC, making him one of the fastest in UFC history to ever win a title.
[Featured Image Credit: UFC]
Shashank Iyer