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UFC 267 Highlights: Glover Teixeira Defies The Odds And Becomes Champ At 42 Years Old

After a summer and fall of uninspiring cards, the UFC returned with a bang for UFC 267, and it delivered in spades. Check out all the highlights after the jump.

Glover Teixeira def. Jan Blachowicz via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) (Rd. 2 3:02)

Glover Teixeira is the unlikely UFC champion at 42 years old after submitting Jan Blachowicz in the second round. A magical cinderella run culminated with a brilliant performance. Its inspiring, and it wasn’t a fluke, he won every minute of the fight. 

Petr Yan def. Cory Sandhagen via Unanimous Decision (49-26, 49-26, 49-26)

In a brilliant display of mixed martial arts, Petr Yan reclaimed his UFC bantamweight title despite an excellent effort from Cory Sandhagen in a loss. Sandhagen came out setting a very heavy pace, took the first round, but once Yan got his reads his power really showed, and he took over. One could easily make the claim Yan’s the best fighter in the world, and he’s certainly one of the most entertaining. 

Islam Makhachev def. Dan Hooker via Submission (Kimura) (Rd. 1 2:25)

Islam Makhachev showed he’s deserving of a title shot by manhandling Dan Hooker and submitting him in under half a round. Makhachev used a kick from hooker to get him to the ground and from therehe isolated an arm and slowly progressed until Hooker submitted before his arm would break. A very impressive performance against a legitimate top 10 fighter should vault Makhachev into the title 

Alexander Volkov def. Marcin Tybura via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

In an unremarkable heavyweight bout, Alexander Volkov outpointed Marcin Tybura to earn the decision victory, and keep his name in the mix for an upcoming heavyweight title bout. Volkov was able to fend off Tybura’s takedown attempts, and then easily score at range with his prodigious reach. 

Khamzat Chimaev def. Li Jiangliang via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) (Rd. 1 3:16)

Khamzat Chimaev returned from a year away from the cage due to Covid, and pitched a shut out, going through Li Jiangliang with seemingly very little effort. Chimaev timed a takedown perfectly, then carried Jiangliang around like a child, talked to Dana White before slamming him, and finding the rear-naked choke finish after a series of brutal ground and pound. Chimaev now moves to 4-0 within the UFC, and has only received one strike over the course of those fights. He’s the hottest prospect in the sport, and its good that Covid didn’t derail him.

Madomed Ankalaev def Volkan Oezdemir via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Magomed Ankalaev struggled with Volkan Oezdemir’s power early on in the first round, but after a few adjustments he scared of Oezdemir, and with Oezdemir on his back foot for most of the last two rounds, he coasted fairly easily to the decision win.

Amanda Ribas def. Virna Jandiroba via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

After dropping the first round to Virna Jandriroba, Amanda Ribas steamed back over the final two rounds to get the decision win. For a fight between two fighters known for their ground game, it was mostly conducted on the feet, tho Ribas did manage to sneak in a rare Teepee choke attempt that’s never finished anyone in the UFC previously, tho she couldn’t get the tap.

Zubaira Tukhugov def. Ricardo Ramos via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

In a highly competitive, and entertaining matchup, Zubaira Tukhugov emerged victorious over Ricardo Ramos. Tukhugov put on an excellent performance, with steady forward progress, higher volume than we’ve come to expect from him, and well timed takedowns. Ramos was very competitive, and had his moments, including a perfectly timed spinning counter elbow. Yet another excellent fight on what’s been a great prelim card.

Albert Duraev def. Roman Kopylov via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)

Albert Duraev and Roman Kopylov had two rounds of relatively close rounds on the feet which sandwiched Duraev completely dominating Kopylov on the ground in the second round, which nearly got Duraev a finish, and was enough for Duraev to get the win.

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Benoît St. Denis via Unanimous Decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-26)

In a fight marred by the worst officiating you will ever see in the UFC, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos completely annihilated Benoît St. Denis in a fight that the referee refused to stop, despite having as many opportunities to as you’ll see. As well as not stopping the fight, the ref also didn’t have a doctor check a severe eye poke, and took a point away for an inadvertant groin strike, which didn’t seem warrented. Massively concerning, and takes the shine away from Zaleski dos Santos, who looked outstanding. The ref was subsequently removed from his other assignments on the card.

Michał Oleksiejczuk def. Shamil Gamzatov via TKO (Punches) (Rd. 1 3:31)

Michal Oleksiejczuk came out aggressive and never let Shamil Gamzatov get going before dropping him with a devastating uppercut through Gamzatov’s guard to get the finish.  Great fight for the always entertaining Oleksiejczuk.

Lerone Murphy def. Makwan Amirkhani via Knockout (Knee) (Rd. 2 0:14)

After being taken down and dominated in the first round, Lerone Murphy blasted Makwan Amirkhani with a counter-knee on a takedown attempt at the start of the second round. A devastating knockout that had Amirkhani take quite a while to get his sense. Completely shut off his lights, and it took quite a while for Amirkhani to regain his senses.

Andre Petroski def. Hu Yaozong via Submission (Head and Arm Choke) (Rd. 3 4:46)

In a very uncompetitive matchup, Andre Petroski dominated Hu Yaozong with repeated takedowns and submission attempts that finally found the finish near the end of the 3rd round. Petroski looked like he was on his way to gassing midway through the first round, but being able to stay in control of the fight allowed him to grind the fight out, while still constantly looking for submission attempts, since he was never going to knock out the granite-chinned Yaozong.

Tagir Ulanbekov def. Allan Nascimento via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

A highly competitive grappling battle kicked off our morning, as Tagir Ulanbekov won the of the fight by spending the majority of the fight in top position. Not that Allan Nascimento was out of this fight at any point, he was constantly throwing up a variety of submission attempts, many of which evolved into very slick sweeps. Very fun fight to start the day.

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