Jiri Prochazka matches Brock Lesnar achievement with come-from-behind title win at UFC 275
With his title victory at UFC 275, Jiri Prochazka has matched an impressive achievement of former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Both fighters managed to win the UFC title in just their third fight in the promotion.
Prochazka defeated Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes to earn a title shot and then defeated Glover Teixeira on June 11 to become the champion.
Lesnar lost his first fight in the UFC against Frank Mir. The 44-year-old then defeated Heath Herring and got a chance to fight Randy Couture for the heavyweight belt at UFC 91. He won the title via a second-round TKO.
Lesnar and Prochazka are not the only ones to win a UFC title in just their third fight. Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm also needed just three outings to win UFC gold.
However, there is someone who has achieved the same feat in just two fights.
It took Anderson Silva just two UFC appearances to become a champion in the promotion. After defeating Chris Leben in his UFC debut, 'The Spider' was matched up against Rich Franklin for the middleweight title at UFC 64.
The Brazilian made easy work of Franklin and finished him in the first round to be crowned the new middleweight king, spawning an era of domination yet to be matched inside the octagon.
Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira delivered an instant classic at UFC 275
Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira stole the show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on June 11 and delivered one of the greatest light heavyweight fights of all time at UFC 275. The two 205-pounders traded shots, engaged in grappling exchanges, and attempted submissions for nearly five rounds.
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#UFC275 Official Scorecards: Glover Teixeira vs Jiri Prochazka (@Jiri_BJP)
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Going into the fifth round, Texeira was ahead on two judges' scorecards, but 'Denisa' managed to snatch away the victory in the final 30 seconds of the fight by pulling off a rear-naked choke submission.
The contest was declared 'Fight of the Night', and the two fighters deservedly took home a bonus cheque of $50,000 each.
With the win, Prochazka became the 15th undisputed champion in the UFC's light heavyweight division. And by pulling off a victory with just 28 seconds left on the clock, the 29-year-old also recorded the second-latest finish in a UFC title fight.
:Jiri Prochazka is now the 15th undisputed @UFC light heavyweight champion.
His submission of Glover Teixeira at 4:32 of R5 is the second latest finish in UFC championship history (Johnson over Horiguchi, 4:59 R5).
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