Glover Teixeira stopped Anthony Smith in the fifth round in last night’s UFC Fight Night 171, but that doesn’t cover the whole story, not by a long shot.And long shots is what Teixiera was delivering as he laid down the politest trash talking ever heard in UFC, only amplified by the empty arena in Jacksonville, Florida.The 40-year-old Brazilian dominated the main event and after rocking Smith with punch after punch, he apologised to his opponent, claiming “it’s part of the job,” before Smith casually replied “yeah, it is what it is.”Just 20 seconds prior, Smith was seen matter-of-factly handing his teeth out to the referee that had burst out of his face thanks to the beating he was in the middle of taking.In the fifth and final round, Teixeira would hand Smith his 15th loss in 48 professional fights. Teixeira, meanwhile, now holds a record of 31-7 and won the UFC Performance of the Night for his efforts.Teixeira, despite being 40, shows no signs of slowing in what was his third fight in 13 months, a period in which he has won all three of his bouts against much younger opposition.The pair headlined the Fight Night card which had been freshly booked following cancellations of six events owing to the coronavirus global pandemic.Elsewhere on the card, Ben Rothwell managed a split decision victory over heavyweight debutant Ovince Saint Preux whilst the likes of Drew Dober, Ricky Simon, Andrei Arlovski and Thiago Moises also won out.
Sijara Eubanks’ unanimous decision victory over Sarah Moras topped the Preliminary Card bill, whilst Omar Morales, Brian Kelleher and Chase Sherman won their fights further down the card.
UFC successfully returned to our screens over the weekend with UFC 249 from the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena behind closed doors. The Fight Night card emanated from the same arena as will their Saturday night event that sees Alistair Overeem take on Walt Harris in the main event.
Also in action, Claudia Gadelha fights Angela Hill in a Women’s strawweight clash whilst the likes of Dan Ige, Eryk Anders and Song Yadong are also involved on the main card.