Having dropped his past two contests two a couple of nobodies named Jon Jones and Phil Davis, it seemed as if the tide was turning against Glover Teixeira heading into his main event showdown with Ovince St. Preux last weekend. And at the end of first round, which saw Glover nearly finished compliments of a brutal liver kick, it seemed as if we might be right.
But then, the tide turned. Falling back on his underrated wrestling/Jiu-Jitsu game, Teixeira rallied and dominated OSP on the mat for the next two rounds before sinking in a fight-ending rear-naked choke that put St. Preux to sleep. Just like that, a former title challenger finds himself back in the title picture…and he’s already got his trash-talking game ON POINT.
But Teixeira — OSP wasn’t the only surprise we were treated to at Fight Night 73, so head after the jump for highlights and a complete list of results.
As we’ve come to learn with each passing event, judging an MMA contest is a surprise in and of itself, especially to those handing out the verdicts. Case in point: For the entirety of their three round co-main event, Michael Johnson outlanded, outworked, and generally outclassed Beneil Dariush on the feet while stuffing 100% of the 7 takedowns his opponent attempted. Yet, inexplicably, the judges gave the nod to Dariush in a move that even Dariush had trouble justifying.
It’s like we’ve said before: Split decisions have become the MMA equivalent of the shrug emoji. MMA judges either refuse to or are incapable of performing what limited duties they have been given, and we are powerless to do anything outside of complaining about it on Twitter.
In keeping with our “surprises” theme, can we talk about the absolute ass-whooping Amanda Nunes put on Sara McMann? The former Olympian/title challenger has now dropped three out of her last four bouts and has never looked as overwhelmed as she was last Saturday. Then again, you could argue that McMann is actually in a better position following the loss than Nunes, because at least she won’t have to face Ronda Rousey anytime soon. Poor, poor Amanda Nunes. She doesn’t even know what’s coming.
Complete results for Fight Night 73 are below.
Main card
Glover Teixeira def. Ovince Saint Preux via submission (rear-naked choke) (3rd, 3:10)
Beneil Dariush def. Michael Johnson via unanimous decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Derek Brunson def. Sam Alvey via first-round TKO (2:19)
Jared Rosholt def. Timothy Johnson via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Amanda Nunes def. Sara McMann via submission (rear-naked choke) (2:53)
Ray Borg def. Geane Herrera via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Undercard
Uriah Hall def. Oluwale Bamgbose via first-round TKO (2:32)
Chris Camozzi def. Tom Watson via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 29-27)
Dustin Ortiz def. Willie Gates via third-round TKO (punches) (2:58)
Frankie Saenz def. Sirwan Kakai via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
Jonathan Wilson def. Chris Dempsey via first-round KO (:50)
Marlon Vera def. Roman Salazar via submission (triangle armbar) (R2, 2:15)
Scott Holtzman def. Anthony Christodoulou via sub (rear-naked choke) (R3, 2:40)
The post Fight Night 73 Highlights/Results: Teixeira Submits OSP, Nunes Batters McMann, MMA Judges Screw Up Another One + More appeared first on Cagepotato.