Victory against local hero Teixeira
Jamahal Hill surprisingly wins UFC title
01/22/2023, 07:55 am
The UFC returns to Brazil: At the cage spectacle in Rio de Janeiro, hopes are pinned on the local heroes. But the Brazilians didn’t prevail in the title fights of all places.
The highlight of the evening comes at the end: At UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, local hero Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill faced off in a title fight for the light heavyweight (up to 92 kg) crown. In the end, the Americans had the better end, winning the fight on points (50-44). Until the referee’s verdict, both cage fighters delivered a gripping exchange of blows.
While the first of five rounds was marked by probing and stray hits, the fight picked up pace in round two. Both title contenders dealt hard punches. First Hill staggered the Brazilian with a combination of punches before Teixeira responded with a smashing left. A cut opened under the left eye of the 31-year-old American, Teixeira’s nose was visibly affected after the hail of blows. Towards the end of the round, Teixeira was able to wrestle his opponent to the ground for the first time. The jiu-jitsu specialist was only in control for around 30 seconds before Hill got back on his feet.
Teixeira suffers from high kicks
Hill’s uppercuts hit the target again and again.
(Photo: REUTERS)
Hill made a mark in the third round with a left highkick to the Brazilian’s head. The kick went into cover, but had an effect. The 43-year-old faltered, Hill followed suit and landed good hits on the ground. In this lap, however, Teixeira showed resilience and straightened up again. Former champion Teixeira went into the fourth round clearly marked: Swelling around the eyes and a large cut above the right eye visibly affected the veteran’s performance. Hill used the cleaner hits, pinning the Brazilian to the cage fence and landing hooks and knees to the head. The Brazilian MMA oldie remained steadfast, constantly wiping the blood from his eyes. After the round, the ring doctor checked the sight of the Brazilian, who was keen to keep fighting.
In round five, Teixeira then relied on his best discipline and threw Hill to the ground with a foot sweep in the middle of the ring. After about a minute on the ground, Teixeira switched to full mount, a particularly dominant position in groundfighting, but Hill agilely wriggled out and put himself in the better position. There he continued to elbow the Brazilian. Hill also had the better arguments overall in the last lap.
Teixeira hangs up gloves
Due to the experience and the home advantage, many experts had actually expected Teixeira to win. However, the referees scored all rounds for the American, who burst into tears after the verdict was announced. “Anything is possible,” said Hill after his triumph. “A lot of people have tried to tell me I can’t do it, that I won’t win a round… now what do you have to say?!” yelled the 31-year-old.
The defeated Teixeira also had his say. Teixeira explained that the American’s hardness and speed surprised him. “I can’t keep up anymore,” said the 43-year-old. After that, he announced his retirement and symbolically threw his gloves in the middle of the ring.
Figueiredo loses UFC title to Moreno
In the second title fight of the evening, Brazilian Deivesion Figueiredo lost his flyweight title (57 kg) to Mexican Brendan Moreno. The ringside doctor stopped the fight in the fourth round after Figueiredo received a hit in the eye and started to swell severely. The Brazilian couldn’t see anything out of his right eye.
It was the fourth meeting between the two. A draw on points (2020) was followed by wins by Moreno (submission, 2021) and then Figueiredo (technical knockout, 2022). There will probably not be a fifth duel. Figueiredo announced after the fight that he no longer wanted to compete at flyweight and would fight at bantamweight in the future.