What were the biggest moments at UFC 275? Jeff Wagenheim, Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi give their experiences from a standout event in Singapore.
Are you not entertained?
The UFC has dozens of champions, and none is as innovative as its newest, light heavyweight Jiri Prochazka.
The 29-year-old Czech tennis player only took two UFC appearances to win a title. But once that opportunity presented itself to him during the UFC 275 main event in Singapore on Saturday, it took Prochazka a long time – almost a full five rounds – to claim the title. Glover Teixeira. And adding drama in the last minutes, Prochazka captured gold in the most unexpected way.
While Prochazka displayed lightning strikes, at all his angles for most of the match, he beat the champion in his own match, strangling the jiu-jitsu ace Teixeira only with 28 seconds remaining in a round where the challenger is about to lose on the scorecard.
Prochazka invented a new way to express his creative freedom.
Watch out, 205 pounders. The champion is only 29 years old and could reign for a while longer. Anyone who makes money booking against him will have a hard time finding training camp partners capable of mimicking this guy.
But it wasn’t quite creativity that helped Prochazka win this war. He was up against 42-year-old Teixeira, who is the oldest first-time UFC champion and won’t be easily dethroned after 20 years to the top. Teixeira was knocked down in four rounds and used dominant positions on the ground to threaten submissions and damage with elbows and punches. The champion appeared on the verge of a decisive victory as Prochazka reversed positions and won only the third time in his 29-match professional career.
That’s right, Prochazka often leaves the counter-attack open while he’s engaged in attack. And rightly so, he let himself get stuck in bad positions on the canvas for a long period of time. But he defended well on the ground and repeatedly found his way back to the stance, something not many fighters have ever managed under Teixeira’s blanket.
And once back, Prochazka continues to demonstrate unorthodox standing techniques that seem out of nowhere. He landed shots that would have finished a boxer if it weren’t for Teixeira’s toughness.
On that toughness: While the ending was a disappointment for Teixeira, especially the way it went down and the moment it went down, he can be proud of his brief reign. Teixeira comes in as a rare, and like no other, underdog champion. He absorbed everything his challenger tackled, even when it seemed near the end and he was in control at the last minute. He would still be the champion if he rode it off the horn. But that’s not how Teixeira rolls. He went for it.
And so does Prochazka, who now owns a shiny gold belt for his never-ending efforts. – Wagenheim
Santos will rematch with Shevchenko
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Valentina Shevchenko defended her title for the seventh time in a row against a tough Taila Santos at UFC 275.
At UFC 275, Valentina Shevchenko looks human for the longest fight period of her reign as the UFC women’s flyweight champion. And Taila Santos deserves all the credit for that. Possibly hesitant to sense the immense power of Santos, Shevchenko’s plan is to take everything down. The problem is that Santos is just as strong as she is and overwhelms Shevchenko in contention, finishing in the lead multiple times after trying to knock Shevchenko down.
Shevchenko ultimately won the fight and retained his title through a split decision. It was not a steal, but the referee who scored Santos was not wrong. One case could be made for her to have won three of Saturday’s five rounds in Singapore. On top of that, Shevchenko and Santos clashed in the third and fourth innings, causing massive damage to Santos’ right eye, which was essentially swollen late in the fourth round and beyond. Santos kept trying to gut it to the end, even being attacked with one eye.
For all the reasons listed above, Santos should have a rematch with Shevchenko. There are no other clear leading contenders for Shevchenko at the moment. Shevchenko vs. Santos 2 will be the next battle for both. It’s not just because Shevchenko can’t dominate or execute his game plan perfectly. But must take into account the confrontation phase. Those aren’t legitimate blows to Santos, and who knows what would have happened if Santos hadn’t taken that amount of damage.
After the fight, Shevchenko mentioned a 30-hour trip to Singapore. Perhaps that was also a factor in her lackluster performance, although you can’t take anything away from Santos. Perhaps Shevchenko will also be ready for a rematch considering those factors. Sure, she wasn’t satisfied with her worst performance as champion.
Now, Shevchenko has spoiled us. She was so dominant, so impregnable, that no one expected her to even lose a round. It’s a bar that can’t be maintained; just ask any dominant champion the UFC has ever had, save for Khabib Nurmagomedov. Shevchenko was allowed a night off – and she still won. More reason to see what happens if the two rematch. – Raimondi
Zhang couldn’t be more impressed
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Zhang Weili, the announcers and the Singapore audience couldn’t contain their excitement after Weili’s incredible knockout win.
I was quite smitten by how good-looking Zhang looked. And I’m not saying it lightly because of course, I was expecting her to look good – she’s one of the best boxers in the world, period. She is at her peak. She is favorably defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk. But how good does she look – it’s fun to watch and it’s good for a 115-pound division.
Jedrzejczyk retired shortly after the bout, and it’s fair to question how solid the boxer’s final performance was. I don’t do that here. I think Jedrzejczyk is very motivated and has more or less fought at the level she has had her entire career. Zhang simply prevailed. Her wrestling is extremely impressive, adding a powerful, complementary touch to her game. She has always been one of the most physically fit athletes at 115 pounds, but she added time and technique to that physicality on the grappling side.
Obviously, the finish shows creativity and high danger factor. She will be favorably defeated Carla Esparza when they’re done and if she gets the belt back, she could be one of those stories about a champion who won the belt, lost it, learned from it, and went on to have a reign. long crown. I see that potential in her. – Okamoto
