Glover Teixeira was forced to overcome adversity before he could claim victory over Ion Cutelaba.
Teixeira (30-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) faced Cutelaba at UFC on ESPN+ 8 last April as the Brazilian veteran looked to claim back-to-back wins for the first time since 2016.
Teixeira had to weather an early storm as Cutelaba connected with a head-kick in the opening exchanges. The Moldovan powerhouse managed to stuff Teixeira’s first few takedown attempts, then landed a spinning back fist that wobbled the Brazilian and had him in all sorts of trouble.
Teixeira survived the round and, with Cutelaba tiring in Round 2 after his all-out attack in Round 1, he looked to capitalize. Cutelaba threw a knee but Teixeira pushed him off, then followed his man to the mat and established top position.
With the action on the mat, Teixeira’s ground game proved to be too slick for Cutelaba as he easily transitioned from full mount to the back before sinking in the rear-naked choke to claim a second-round submission victory.
Teixeira followed up that win by edging out Nikita Krylov last September as he took his win streak to three. Now he’s set to face Anthony Smith this Wednesday in the UFC on ESPN+ 29 headliner, knowing that an impressive win could push him right back into title contention once again.
Before he faces Smith, relive Teixeira’s submission win over Cutelaba in the video above.
UFC on ESPN+ 29 takes place Wednesday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The card streams on ESPN+.
