Ion Cutelaba came into his UFC on ESPN+ 8 main-card bout vs. Glover Teixeira with a hotheaded reputation and a knack for coming out fast in fights.
But Teixeira is one of the saltiest old dogs in the game, and he knew to stay patient when his light heavyweight opponent came out strong Saturday night.
Teixeira survived a strong start by his opponent, then roared back in the second round for an impressive victory. A rear-naked choke submission got the job done at the 3:37 mark of the second round.
“I take my time, because I knew he was going to bring the heat in the first round,” Teixeira said. “And I’d get him in the second or third.”
Cutelaba (14-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) indeed got off to a quick start, appearing to be faster and stronger than his 39-year old foe. He connected on a spinning backfist, nearly hit Teixeira with what would have been an illegal knee if it landed, then started scoring offense from top position.
But just when it looked like the end might be near, Teixeira (29-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC) bulled his way back to his feet and cleared his head. While Cutelaba won the opening round, you could sense the tide was turning.
And Teixeira started turning up the heat in the second, landing over and over with punishing right hands while his opponent faded. Teixeira simply threw his tiring foe to the mat, then wasted little time getting into top position for the winning choke.
The light heavyweight bout was part of the main card of the UFC on ESPN+ 8 event at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla. It streamed on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN and ESPN2.
With the victory, Teixeira now has won two straight and three of his past four. It was his 10th finish in the UFC, which ties Jon Jones for the modern-era UFC light heavyweight record. Cutelaba’s second career loss via finish snapped a two-fight win streak.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 8 results include:
- Glover Teixeira def. Ion Cutelaba via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 2, 3:37
- Cory Sandhagen def. John Lineker via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Roosevelt Roberts def. Thomas Gifford via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Takashi Sato def. Ben Saunders via TKO (punch and elbows) – Round 2, 1:18
- Augusto Sakai def. Andrei Arlovski via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Carla Esparza def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Gilbert Burns def. Mike Davis via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:15
- Jim Miller def. Jason Gonzalez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:12
- Angela Hill def. Jodie Esquibel via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Dhiego Lima def. Court McGee via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 8, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
