Glover Teixeira's game plan was simple: Slow and steady wins the race.
The 40-year-old Brazilian endured a fast start by Anthony Smith and then bludgeoned his way to a brutal fifth-round TKO victory Wednesday night in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
This was the second UFC event to take place in five days as the MMA promotion gets back into gear after being benched during the coronavirus pandemic. Another Fight Night is scheduled for Saturday.
Smith raced out of the gate and quickly exploited a speed advantage. He plucked away with the jab and kept Teixeira from pressing him against the fence. The only thing that slowed down Smith was an inadvertent low blow, but "Lionheart" picked up right where he left off when the action resumed, mixing punches and kicks that busted up the Brazilian's face.
But once Smith had expended all that energy, Teixeira had him right where he wanted him.
Teixeira successfully closed the distance in the second round and found himself in punching range. A right hook from Smith caused extreme swelling to Teixeira's left eye but also brought a sense of urgency. Teixeira sensed that Smith was tiring and ramped up the pressure by landing several hard shots at close range. As the round closed, it was clear that Smith was running out of gas.
Teixeira took over the fight in the third round. He followed an uppercut with a left hook that sent Smith crashing to the canvas. It looked like the end was near, but somehow, Smith managed to survive the round despite some brutal ground and pound that went on for over two minutes.
Teixeira opened the fourth round with a hard uppercut that wrecked Smith. Smith valiantly attempted to fight back, but Teixeira was all over him with devastating power shots. Once again, it appeared the fight could be stopped as Teixeira took the fight to the ground and pounded on his wounded opponent.
Between the fourth and fifth rounds, Smith told his corner, "My teeth are falling out," and it was clear that he had nothing left. He still came out and tried to fight in the final round, but Teixeira knew what needed to be done.
The end was academic as Teixeira took Smith down, transitioned to full mount and let loose a barrage of punches that stopped the fight at the 1:04 mark.
The victory is Teixeira's fourth in a row, and he could find himself back in title contention soon. Smith is 1-2 in his last three fights but still a threat to anybody in the light heavyweight division.
Ben Rothwell escapes Ovince Saint Preux with split decision
Rothwell survived a late scare and turned back Saint Preux, who was making his heavyweight debut.
Rothwell got off to a fast start against Saint Preux, who had spent his entire career as a light heavyweight. Saint Preux seemed to have difficulty adjusting to the additional weight and was smothered by Rothwell in the first half of the fight. He nearly got trapped in a power guillotine in the second round.
But OSP found his footing and landed several hard strikes that hurt Rothwell at the close of the round. In the third, Rothwell found himself on the wrong end of some thudding punches from Saint Preux. Both men were exhausted by the end, but they brawled until the final bell in a round Saint Preux clearly won. Rothwell's strong start earned him a pair of 29-28 scores to offset a 29-28 card in favor of Saint Preux.
Drew Dober stops Alexander Hernandez in two rounds
Dober confirmed his status as a fighter who is set to make noise in the lightweight division. The 31-year-old veteran, who trains with UFC interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, used effective pressure and tenacious striking to pick up his third victory in a row. He'll certainly crack the top 15 after this impressive performance.
UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira results
Main card
- Glover Teixeira def. Anthony Smith via fifth-round TKO
- Ben Rothwell def. Ovince Saint Preux via split decision
- Drew Dober def. Alexander Hernandez via second-round TKO
- Ricky Simon def. Ray Borg via split decision
Prelims
- Andrei Arlovski def. Philipe Lins via unanimous decision
- Thiago Moises def. Michael Johnson via second-round submission
- Sijara Eubanks def. Sarah Moras via unanimous decision
- Omar Morales def. Gabriel Benítez via unanimous decision
- Brian Kelleher def. Hunter Azure via second-round KO
- Chase Sherman def. Isaac Villanueva via second-round TKO