The challenger looked comfortable as round two commenced, and he had success with a variety of striking attacks. In the second minute, a right hand jarred Teixeira and prompted a pair of desperate takedown attempts. Prochazka defended well and kept the assault coming, but out of nowhere, Teixeira put Prochazka down on the mat and now it was the Brazilian’s opportunity to turn on the offense, which he did with a series of elbows that cut Prochazka over the left eye right before the horn sounded.
Prochazka defended Teixeira’s first takedown attempt of round three and again had success with his unorthodox striking. Most notably, a short left that jarred the champion. But just when it looked like Prochazka was going to pull away, Teixeira got a takedown two minutes in. This time, Prochazka got back to his feet quickly and landed a hard body shot on his bloodied foe, and moments later he was unloading strikes on the grounded Teixeira. The champion refuse to back down, though, and with under a minute left, it was Teixeira on top and landing the shots.
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After some back and forth striking from the two 205-pounders to start the fourth, Teixeira took Prochazka down in the second minute and went to work, getting into the mount just before the midway point. Teixeira then looked for an arm triangle choke twice. After Prochazka got free, he got into the top position, but then it was Teixeira getting his opponent’s back briefly before another change in position, leaving Prochazka in control at the horn.
A right hand by Teixeira stunned and nearly stopped Prochazka early in the final round, but a subsequent guillotine choke attempt saw the challenger slip out and get his wits back as they grappled on the mat. Once standing, Prochazka fired off shots, but it was Teixeira getting the better of the exchanges, landing another big right midway through the frame before getting another takedown. In the full mount, Teixeira appeared to be in complete control, but it was Prochazka escaping once more, and out of nowhere, he sunk in a rear naked choke that forced a tap out at 4:32 of the fifth round. Wow.
With the win, the 29-year-old Prochazka moves to 29-3-1. The 42-year-old Teixeira falls to 33-8. At the time of the stoppage, Teixeira led on two scorecards, 39-37, 38-37, with the third scorecard reading 38-38 heading into the final round.
2 – Khamzat Chimaev vs Gilbert Burns
If rising welterweight star Khamzat Chimaev wanted a war from Gilbert Burns, he got one, but he left the Octagon with his unbeaten record intact as he won a close, but unanimous decision over the former world title challenger.
Scores were 29-28 across the board for the No.11-ranked Chimaev, now 11-0. The No.2-ranked Burns falls to 20-5.
