UFC

Weili Zhang did not leave it to the judges at UFC 275, stopping Joanna Jedrzejczyk with a spinning back fist to win their highly anticipated rematch.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Zhang fired a spinning back fist— and Jedrzejczyk hit the canvas! They continued to trade, and a massive “Weili” chant broke out at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. China’s Zhang fired a kick to the body. The Polish fighter was trapped against the fence, eating punches; she got back to her feet, but Zhang showed more of her newly honed wrestling skills, getting the fight down again. Lots of top time from Zhang; when they got up again, Jedrzejczyk appeared to nearly get the upper hand, but Zhang got her back down. It did, though it was a very different fight — one that didn’t require the full three rounds afforded to it. One of the most hotly anticipated rematches in years started off with Jedrzejczyk on the outside, using lateral movement, while Zhang tried to cut her off.

Zhang and Jedrzejczyk picked off right where they left off in what many crowned as 2020's Fight of the Year.

Jedrzejczyk stepped in and Zhang clobbered her with a spinning backfist. Jedrzejczyk face planted and Zhang walked away, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Jedrzejczyk shucked off a takedown attempt from Zhang but ate a stiff one-two combination. Jedrzejczyk rejected the idea and scrambled to freedom. The Chinese powerhouse scored multiple takedowns and punished Jedrzejczyk with ground-and-pound. Zhang wrapped up Jedrzejczyk against the fence and mauled her with strikes.

Valentina Shevchenko and Taila Santos went the distance in their UFC 275 co-main event, in what turned out to be a very close affair.

Santos had a body triangle in place, and got under the chin! Off the restart, Shevchenko landed a throw, had a headlock in place, but Santos rolled through and wound up on top, in guard. She’d finish the round in Shevchenko’s guard — and there was a good chance Taila Santos was up on the scorecards after two rounds. A big takedown followed for Santos. She transitioned to the back, but was high up, and had to be careful not to come off the top. She ripped a kick to the body, and fired a superman punch. Shevchenko had a whizzer in place, defending, and Santos fired knees to the thigh. The action was halted just seconds into the third, after Santos started the frame without her mouth guard. That left Santos with her back to the fence, and Shevchenko found room to land some knees. Shevchenko fanned on a front kick to open round two, and missed on a spinning kick as well. Santos went hunting for a neck crank or rear-naked choke, while the champ fought hands and fired punches back at Santos, doing a fair amount of damage given the angle. That missed; Santos closed the distance for a takedown, but Shevchenko reversed. Santos sat on the outside early as the UFC 275 co-main event got underway — but landed a counter after Shevchenko opened fire.

After her second-round knockout loss to Zhang Weili at UFC 275, Jedrzejczyk said she was walking away from the sport in her post-fight interview inside the ...

For most of her career, Jedrzejczyk was the best fighter in the women's 115-pound division. I want to be a businesswoman. I want to be a mom. Saturday marked Jedrzejczyk's first fight in 27 months. I’m retired guys, thank you so much. Jedrzejczyk: Guys, I love life so much.

Valentina Shevchenko got the biggest test of her UFC women's flyweight title reign but managed to escape with a split-decision victory over Taila Santos at ...

Shevchenko started to land heavier combinations and secured a key takedown in the fifth round to seal the victory. The swelling appeared to bother Santos a little, and she also appeared somewhat fatigued in the later rounds. The fight remained ultra competitive in the second and third rounds. Santos, 28, capitalized on the error by locking in a body triangle. Shevchenko (23-3) edged Brazilian contender Taila Santos (19-2) by split decision in the co-main event of UFC 275. I left my heart in this Octagon. I can tell everyone, fans of MMA, I left my heart in here."

Former UFC women's strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk announced her retirement in the Octagon following her knockout loss to Weili Zhang at UFC 275.

Jedrzejczyk (16-5) held the UFC women's strawweight title from 2015 to 2017, a span of five successful title defenses, which is still the most in division history. I want to be a businesswoman. I want to be a mom.

Procházka stops Teixeira to win UFC light heavyweight title · Valentina Shevchenko keeps flyweight title by split decision · Joanna Jedrzejczyk retires after ...

I want to be a businesswoman. I want to be a mom. Moments earlier, Shevchenko (23-3) was tested from the opening round by Santos, who won four straight fights to earn her first UFC title shot. The Chinese veteran left no doubt the second time, ending the bout with the spectacular spinning strike that ended it. Both fighters were bleeding from cuts in the third round, and Procházka also wobbled Teixeira in the middle rounds before his dramatic finish. Procházka survived nearly five rounds of consistent punishment from the 42-year-old Teixeira, who became a first-time UFC champion at 205lbs late last year.

Glover Teixeira (C) vs Jiri Prochazka (light heavyweight title) · Valentina Shevchenko def. Taila Santos via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46) · Zhang Weili ...

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Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka topped off a memorable night at UFC 275, which saw a legend retire, and another given her toughest test to date.

When the fight rolled around, she got out to an early lead, care of her strength and grappling ability. The second-round KO floored Poland’s Jedrzejczyk, who had not fought in two years — and who announced her retirement after the bout. A live stream is available in the embed above.

The new champion also earned some star power with his style of fighting that leaves him in vulnerable positions.

The fact that Jedrzejczyk hadn't fought in two years seemed to catch up with her. Two of the three judges agreed that Shevchenko had won the second round, which opened the door for her to rally in the championship rounds by sweeping both on all three cards to steal the victory. The swing round in this case appeared to be Round 2 when Santos continued her success on the ground. Jedrzejczyk's five consecutive title defenses from 2015-17 remains the most successful reign in 115-pound history. Shevchenko, who briefly secured a triangle choke attempt on the ground, got the better of the standup that round and was also much busier offensively while her back was stuck to the ground. In just his third UFC fight, the 29-year-old native of the Czech Republic is now a champion. Either way, it's a fight fans won't soon forget as each warrior was willing to persevere through extreme damage and fatigue until an uncharacteristic mistake from Teixeira in Round 5 led to his heartbreaking defeat while ahead on two of three scorecards (with the third one even). This fight had a shocking ending similar to Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen I yet was much sloppier and frenetic than most great title bouts as technique largely went out the window in this veritable street fight. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including instant analysis of UFC 275 at the conclusion of the PPV event. But it's the incredible intangibles he employed in rallying to victory that will keep them coming back to the turnstiles to watch him compete. Meanwhile, in the co-main event, women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko was forced to rally and hang on for a disputed split-decision win against Taila Santos. From an action standpoint alone, Prochazka's submission win with just 28 seconds to go in the final round easily belongs alongside Jon Jones-Alexander Gustafsson I, Zhang-Jedrzejczyk I and Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard II as the best championship tilts in the 29 years UFC has been in business. Thanks to his willingness to so often go against the grain of what is considered the orthodox norm in this sport, it's very likely no one will.

One title changed hands while a second was barely retained. Who gets the next shot? Brett Okamoto plays matchmaker after UFC 275.

And the next contender will be the winner of this fight in August. It's a defensible position to say the UFC should run this back, but I don't think it'll happen. Teixeira said in the Octagon he would like to keep going, and he certainly is capable of doing so. Rodriguez is deserving of a title shot, frankly; she's just not as deserving as Zhang. I think this is a great option for Teixeira. And again, it has nothing to do with his ability. You have to be elite to beat Chookagian at flyweight right now, and Santos just proved -- even in a loss -- that she is. Zhang just put a massive exclamation mark on this rivalry with Jedrzejczyk. Zhang has never looked better, and she sported some outstanding wrestling on Saturday. Her decision-making and creativity -- it's all there. That fight ended when Rakic suffered a leg injury, but the victory still goes on Blachowicz's record -- and that record looks good, as he has won six of his past seven bouts. With under a minute left in the fifth round of the main event at UFC 275 in Singapore, Glover Teixeira looked like he was about to put it on cruise control for a decision win. The other champion in the night heard ... "and still!" He also showed a lot of heart and championship grit in Saturday's victory. After the bout, Jedrzejczyk placed her gloves on the mat and retired from the sport.

Jiri Prochazka finished Glover Teixeira with a rear-naked choke in the waning seconds of the fifth round to become the UFC light heavyweight champion.

Prochazka never even got his legs around Teixeira -- in grappling terms, he never got his hooks in -- during the opportune, unorthodox choke. Prochazka landed some punches from the top, but Teixeira somehow swept and took Prochazka's back before the end of the round. Prochazka took that momentum into the second round and landed some big punches, a knee and ground-and-pound with Teixeira on the mat. Back on the feet, both men landed hard shots, with Teixeira getting the better of things. But back on the feet, Teixeira caught Prochazka pressuring forward wildly with a left hook that dropped him. "He was hitting me with body shots that took my gas away," Teixeira said. Teixeira looked early like he would run over Prochazka with his superior wrestling and grappling. Judge Michael Bell had it 38-38 going into the fifth round, judge Ben Cartlidge had Teixeira up 39-37, and Clemens Warner had Teixeira ahead 38-37. Coming into the fight, ESPN had Teixeira ranked No. 8 on its list of the best pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the world. Prochazka is the first male fighter to win an undisputed UFC title within his first three fights since Brock Lesnar in 2008, according to ESPN Stats & Information. "It was a true war," Prochazka said. Teixeira gave it all back and then some.

Former strawweight champion calls it a career following knockout loss in Singapore.

The bout is also a surefire addition to the UFC Hall of Fame's "Fight Wing" in the very near future. I want to be a businesswoman. I want to be a mom.

UFC may want to pull the trigger on Prochazka vs. Teixeira 2 before it is too late.

Either way, the door is open for Shevchenko. The women's flyweight champion has expressed her desire to fight for the bantamweight belt by year's end. This might just be the frontrunner for Fight of the Year but they may not have two years to run it back as Zhang and Jededrzejczyk did. It may not have been an awe-inspiring, dominant launching pad to a super-fight, but the reality is that women's flyweight is hurting for fresh contenders. Glover Teixeira: Apologies to Jan Blachowicz, who is expecting to face Prochazka in the aftermath of UFC 275. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including instant analysis of UFC 275 at the conclusion of the PPV event. UFC 275 may not have been the most marketable pay-per-view of the year, but it was a powder keg of action.