UFC 275 is a wrap after a crazy night of fights in Singapore.
In the main event, we saw one a thrilling ‘Fight of the Year’ contender as Glover Teixeira attempted to defend his light heavyweight strap against the former RIZIN champion and No. 2 ranked contender Jiri Prochazka.
The fight was extremely close and dramatic from start to finish. Both fighters had their moments and we got to see a slugfest as well as intriguing grappling exchanges before Prochazka managed to pull off a shocking rear-naked choke finish in the fifth and final round to claim the championship.
“It was a true war, Glover is a true warrior and I like that,” Prochazka said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier after getting his hand raised.
Prior to round five, Teixeira was up on the scorecards by a close margin. One judge had it 38-38 while the other two had scored it 39-37 and 38-37 in favor of the former champion. And it didn’t take long before the 42-year-old suggested a rematch.
Other names in the mix are former champion Jan Blachowicz as well as Magomed Ankalaev and Anthony Smith, who’ll be fighting in a potential No. 1 contender bout at UFC 277.
Valentina Shevchenko defends belt by split decision after razor-close title fight against Talia Santos
In the co-main event of UFC 275, women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko defended her belt against the No. 4 ranked contender Talia Santos who proved to be Shevchenko’s toughest challenger yet in the 125 lbs weight class.
Shevchenko got taken down and had Santos on her back more than once. The challenger held her own in the striking department as well and in the end, the judges weren’t on the same page as it all came down to a razor-close split decision.
While one judge had it 48-27 in favor os Santos, the other two had Shevchenko winning with 48-47 and 49-46 scorecards.
“I did everything. I left my heart in the octagon for this fight,” Shevchenko told Daniel Cormier in her post-fight interview. “I expected killer opponent.”
Joanna Jedrzejczyk retires following brutal knockout loss to Zhang Weili
Also featured on the UFC 275 main card was a much-anticipated rematch between former strawweight champions Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
This was Jedrzejczyk’s first fight in over two years and unfortunately for her, she ended up getting knocked out in spectacular fashion as Weili landed a brutal spinning back fist in round two that could very well be the frontrunner for ‘Knockout of the Year’.
Afterwards, Jedrzejczyk announced her retirement from MMA.
“It’s been 20 years. I’m turning 35 this year. I want to be a mom. I want to be a business woman. I’ve been training two decades, more than half of my life. I appreciate you all. I love you guys,” Jedrzejczyk said after the loss.
Since the rematch was considered a strawweight title eliminator, Weili is now expected to face the reigning champion Carla Esparza next.
“Carla Esparza, I heard there’s an event in Abu Dhabi, and I want to invite you to fight me Abu Dhabi. It’s not your territory. It’s not my territory. Let’s be in Abu Dhabi and fight together,” Weili said through a translator in her post-fight interview.
UFC 275: Official results
Check out the full UFC 275 results down below!
Main card:
- Light heavyweight title fight: #2 Jiri Prochazka def. (C) Glover Teixeira via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 5, 4:32
- Women’s flyweight title fight: (C) Valentina Shevchenko def. #4 Taila Santos via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46)
- Women’s strawweight: #2 Zhang Weili def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk via knockout (spinning backfist) – Round 2, 2:28
- Welterweight: Jake Matthews def. Andre Fialho via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:24
- Welterweight: Jack Della Maddalena def. Ramazan Emeev via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:32
Prelims:
- Featherweight: Josh Culibao def. Seungwoo Choi via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Lightweight: Hayisaer Maheshate def. Steve Garcia via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:14
- Middleweight: Brendan Allen def. Jacob Malkoun via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Bantamweight: Kyung Ho Kang def. Danaa Batgerel via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Women’s strawweight: Silvana Gomez Juarez def. Na Liang via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:22
- Featherweight: Joselyne Edwards def. Ramona Pascual via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC 275: Bonus winners
As usual, some fighters were awarded $50,000 dollar bonuses for their performances. The UFC’s standard practice is to give out four bonuses but this time, five fighters walked away with a bonus check.
Check out the UFC 275 bonus winners down below!
- Fight of the Night: Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka
- Performance of the Night: Zhang Weili
- Performance of the Night: Hayisaer Maheshate
- Performance of the Night: Silvana Gomez Juarez
UFC 275: Post-fight press conference
Watch the UFC 275 post-fight press conference right here on Frontkick!
Read more: Superior Challenge 24 results: Robin Roos wins by first round TKO at Superior Challenge 24
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