Glover Teixeira --------------------- Ryan Bader
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – Glover Teixeira and Ryan Bader crammed a full fight's worth of violence and drama into a 30-second span. In the end, though, Teixeira scored a TKO victory mere seconds after appearing he'd be on the receiving end of one.
The bout headlined Wednesday's UFC Fight Night 28 event at Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It aired on FOX Sports 1.
Conventional wisdom said the main event would be a striker vs. grappler matchup. However, both competitors has their moments in both disciplines.
Bader, an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, scored an early takedown and put Teixeira on his back. But Teixeira, a nearly 4-1 favorite, quickly escaped and scored one of his own. However, once the fighters separated and returned to their feet, the fireworks began.
After a quick exchange, Bader found his opening and slipped through a quick left hook, which staggered and briefly dropped his opponent. Teixeira returned to his feet, but Bader stalked after him and unloaded some heavy single shots as his foe tried to regain his wits while on wobbly legs.
The end looked near, but mere seconds later, Teixeira uncorked a clean right-left combination that sent Bader (15-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) staggering to the mat. Teixerira (22-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), fighting in his home state of Minas Gerais for the first time in his UFC career, quickly pounced with a flurry of ground and pound, which forced the referee's intervention and sent a Brazilian crowd to its feet.
Teixeira was rocked, but he figured he'd make the most of a bad situation and capitalize on Bader's newfound confidence. Or, as he said, he got his "wakeup call" just before the TKO stoppage.
"He was able to give me a punch and to make me fall down, but I saw everything as it was happening," he said. "I knew exactly what was happening, and I was able to make that an opportunity for me."
Teixeira, who's now won five straight fights in the UFC (and 20 overall), could be next in line for this month's UFC 165 headliner between dominant champion Jon Jones and underdog challenger Alexander Gustafsson. While Bader was the first upper-tier contender Teixeira defeated in the UFC, there's little doubt he would provide an interesting stylistic matchup for either fighter.
"To tell you the truth, I wasn't happy with this fight," he said. "I was disappointed he was able to knock me down. … But I'm telling you, this belt is going to be mine. It doesn't matter if it's Jon Jones or Gustafsson. It's mine."
Results From UFC Fight Night 28:
Glover Teixeira def. Ryan Bader via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:55
Ronaldo Souza def. Yushin Okami via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:47
Joseph Benavidez def. Jussier Formiga via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 3:07
Piotr Hallmann def. Francisco Trinaldo via submission (kimura) - Round 2, 3:50
Rafael Natal def. Tor Troeng via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Ali Bagautinov def. Marcos Vinicius via TKO (punches) - Round 3, 3:28
Edimilson Souza def. Felipe Arantes via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Lucas Martins def. Ramiro Hernandez via technical submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 1:10
Elias Silverio def. Joao Zeferino via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Ivan Jorge def. Keith Wisniewski via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Sean Spencer def. Yuri Villefort via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Results From UFC Fight Night on FOX Sports 1- (9/4/2013)
Linear Mode
