Glover Teixeira had one of his best performances of his career last night.
In the five-round main event, the 40-year-old showcased why he’s one of the best light heavyweights in the division as Teixeira dominated his bout against “Lionheart”. Smith came out strong and fast during the opening round of the contest; however, Teixeira stood his ground and picked apart the former light heavyweight title contender until the fight was finally stopped in the fifth round.
Teixeira’s strong performance increased his win streak to four, with the Brazilian previously scoring wins over Karl Roberson (via submission at UFC Fight Night 143), Ion Cuțelaba (via submission at UFC Fight Night 150) and Nikita Krylov (via split decision at UFC Fight Night 158) before meeting Smith in Jacksonville, Florida.
Smith suffers his second loss in a manner of three fights, with the 31-year-old failing to beat Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight title at UFC 235; however, the Texas native briefly bounced back with a big submission victory over Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Fight Night 153. His professional record is now 33 wins and 15 losses.
Teixeira is looking to get back into the title hunt and if the veteran keeps putting on performances like he did at UFC Fight Night 171, then it shouldn’t be too long before the light heavyweight challenges for the 205-pound belt.