The big question heading into the co-main event of UFC 179 was something like this: Which would win out, Phil Davis‘ wrestling or Glover Teixeira’s standup?
We got our answer right away on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro. Davis took down Teixeira early and often and cruised to a unanimous decision win, a redemptive victory which re-established him in the light heavyweight division.
The judges’ scores were 30-27 across the board.
Davis (13-2), coming off a terrible loss to Anthony Johnson at UFC 172, imposed his will early. Teixeira’s only answer to Davis’ shots were sloppy attempts at guilotines which went nowhere.
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Davis only got stronger as the bout went on, as he effortlessly changed levels and took the Brazilian to the mat at will.
While Teixeira showed urgency when he came out for round three, Davis shut him down and controlled the rest of the fight.
After the bout, Davis threw a curveball when asked who he’d like to fight next.
“Lately they’ve been calling me the Brazilian killer but I don’t really like that,” Davis (13-2, 1 NC) said. “I’m a Christian, I don’t go around calling me a killer. There’s only one guy out there who is Brazilian who I would love to fight, and that’s Anderson Silva.”
Teixeira (22-4) has dropped two in a row after a 20-fight win streak.