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Jiri Prochazka capped off his rapid ascent in the UFC with a fifth-round submission win over Glover Teixeira to capture the light heavyweight crown in the main event at UFC 275 from Kallang, Singapore.
It didn’t take long for Prochazka to see more adversity than he saw in his first two UFC fights. Teixeira scored a single-leg takedown early in the first round and the challenger spent much of the first round trying to get back to his feet.
The second round featured some of the highl-level striking that got Prochazka his quick shot to the title. He tattooed Teixeira with a few uppercuts and controlled most of the round. Then the champion came roaring back to complicate the scorecards.
A flying knee and two clean jabs to the nose created a turning point in the third round. Teixeira absorbed the punishment but had to survive the moments after the two jabs landed flush.
The wild swings in momentum continued in the fourth round. Teixeira nearly locked in an arm-triangle choke before Prochazka slid out and did some damage of his own.
The back-and-forth came to a shocking conclusion when an exhausted Prochaazka grabbed on to a Hail Mary rear-naked choke and drew the tap from Teixeira.
Prochazka’s rise to the top has not taken long in the UFC. He brought a 10-fight win streak with him into his organizational debut. Of those 10 wins, only one was by decision.
In short, Prochazka has been knocking people out since his career started in 2012. We are just now seeing it happen in the UFC.
It only took two fights for Prochazka to earn his crack at the title. Now, he’s the Czech Republic’s first UFC champion.
“I’m so glad to fight for the Czech Republic—to represent such a small country,” he said, per E. Spencer Kyte of UFC.com. “We’re a small country with such big potential, but not everybody is living up to that potential, so I’m just trying to live my best.”
Prochazka not only expands the global reach of the UFC champion club, but he breathes new life into the light heavyweight title picture.
Since Jon Jones left to chase the heavyweight crown, the division has seen 39-year-old Jan Blachowicz and 42-year-old Teixeira win the belt. The two combined for just one successful title defense.
Prochazka has the confidence, unique style and skills to become a mainstay in the division for a while. He’ll be looking to take on all comers and establish a new era in the division.
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