Glover Teixeira Defeats Jan Blachowicz, Wins the UFC Light Heavyweight Title

Glover Teixeira became the new light heavyweight champion defeating Jan Blachowicz in the main event of the UFC 267. The veteran Brazilian submitted his rival at 1:58 of Round 2.

At 42-years, he became the second-oldest UFC champion. But not only that, he was a +240 underdog.

“Twenty years, man.” Glover told Daniel Cormier. “twenty years of waiting… I don’t know what to say.”

Teixeira recalled all the challenges he had along the road, adding that nobody should quit its dreams no matter what everyone says.

The Brazilian opened the match in his style, searching for a way to take the fight to the mat, which he did eventually. Even though he couldn’t break Blachowicz’s defense on the ground, he inflicted a few hits that earned him the first round on the scoreboards.

42 year old Glover Teixeira gets the submission in the 2nd and is the new champion 😳 #UFC267 https://t.co/3NImzmwd40

— BetOnline (@BetOnline_ag) October 30, 2021

Glover was far more convincing in the second, starting it with a hard one-two combo that shook the champion and left him wobbling in the octagon. After that, there was a short exchange in the middle of the ring, and at that point, many believed that Blachowicz might take back the momentum.

But in no time, the Pole was on the ground, with Glover on his back. Strong choke forced Blachowicz to tap out and hand over his title to the older opponent.

“Everything went wrong for me tonight. I think I left the Polish power in the other room,” said Blachowicz following the fight.

It was evident that he didn’t expect to lose, but now already former champ, who managed to ruin Israel Adesanya’s perfect streak, stated that he wouldn’t quit but come back even stronger.

Teixeira already picked his next rival – Jiri Prochazka. The Brazilian stated that Prochazka should be his first title defense, and the Czech who was in the stands apparently agreed, judging by his reaction.

According to Teixeira’s words, the fight could be booked for May next year. But that will be the decision of the organization, not the fighters.

In the co-main event of the night, Petr Yan defeated Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision, with all three judges declaring him the winner by the result of 49-46. The former champion was dominant right from the start, and as time went by, inflicted more and more damage on his rival.

Spinning backfist by @PetrYanUFC puts down Sandhagen 🤯 #UFC267 pic.twitter.com/uB080G9f0A

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 30, 2021

Even though Sandman tried to follow the pace, it was apparent that in the championship rounds, the American slowed down and wasn’t able to keep up with the tempo. A fantastic spinning punch dropped him in the third, and until the end of the contest, we’ve seen several more attractive punches and kicks coming from the Russian.

Sandhagen stayed on his feet, but it was obvious that he wouldn’t win this one.

After the battle, Yan said that he is the only real champion of the bantamweight category and that everyone knows that. The Russian should meet with Aljamain Sterling in the recent future and determine who is the undisputed champion. Their match was scheduled for this event, but the American withdrew due to a neck injury.

Khamzat Chimaev kept his record perfect, winning the 10th straight battle, this time against Li Jingliang. He submitted the opponent in the first round, and this was his third consecutive win with a finish in the opening sequence. Chimaev might get a chance to meet one of the big names in the middleweight division, presumably in one title eliminator.