Alexander Gustafsson put together a stellar display of striking tonight as he completely dismantled Glover Teixeira for the best part of five rounds and then finally put him away with a stunning combination.
Round One:
The main event of the evening is underway in Stockholm, Sweden.
Gustafsson with an immediate spinning kick to the body that doesn’t quite find the mark. Gustafsson now moving on the outside.
Low kick across the legs from the Swedish fighter. Teixeira gets in close and unleashes a few punches then takes his opponent’s back, then dumps him to the mat.
Gustafsson straight back up again though and circling again on the outside. Front kick to the body for Gustafsson. Right hand for Teixeira.
Now a big uppercut for Gustafsson. Jab for him too. Another piston-like punch down the pipe as Gustafsson finds his range nicely in this opening round.
Leg kick for Gustafsson. Punch for Teixeira who is waiting until he gets into close range to let his hands go. Another exchange and unfortunately Teixeira suffers an eyepoke and requires a timeout.
After a couple of minutes Teixeira says he’s ok to continue, though he doesn’t seem too sure about it. Back to the action he goes though and soon after he’s banged on the chin by a big uppercut from Gustafsson.
Teixeira still pressing forward though and Gustafsson actually runs away to create space. Gustafsson landing well when he’s at range.
He runs away again. It doesn’t look pretty, but to be fair, every time Gustafsson makes space he’s able to land long, rangey strikes with a great deal of accuracy, while Teixeira is just not getting time to work at close range, and that’s quickly going to become a big frustration for him.
Round Two:
Inbetween rounds Teixeira seems to be indicating to his team that he can’t see out of his right eye, but he’s going into the second round anyway.
Elbow strike lands for Gustafsson and Teixeira backs up. That seemed to hurt him, but he’s got a good poker face. Another strike lands though and Teixeira looked hurt by that too.
Beautiful two-piece combo from Gustafsson including an uppercut. he clearly feels he has Teixeira’s number here.
Teixeira won’t stop coming though and he manages to get in close and pressure Gustafsson with a few strikes before the Swede can escape.
However, not long afterwards Gustafsson lands a spinning elbow strike to the face, then lands a terrific combination of punches behind it face, snapping Teixeira’s head back repeatedly. It’s remarkable that Teixeira is still standing after that, and he’s now bleeding heavily from his nose.
The Brazilian hasn’t given up yet though. He lands a hook behind the ear and Gustafsson stumbles, but it seemed he was just off-balance.
Teixeira lands a couple of hooks as he tries to work his way back into the fight. Solid jabs for Gustafsson though.
A few punches to disguise a head kick attempt from Teixeira, but it’s blocked. Gustafsson continues to look to run away from the Brazilian when he gets too close for comfort, but it’s risky as sometimes shots are whistling just by his head as he does so.
Teixeira with another shory flurry in close as the round comes to a close. Excellent stuff from Gustafsson at imes there, but Teixeira deserves a great deal of credit for his toughness.
Round Three:
Leg kick for Gustafsson. Now a hook. Good two-piece combo from Teixeira in close. Gustafsson with another crisp series of strikes that floors Teixeira.
The Brazilian on his back, but still in the fight as Gustafsson gets into his guard and works in some very hard elbow strikes.
Teixeira able to scramble though and gets up, pressing Gustafsson to the cage. Brilliant recovery from Teixeira, who bear in mind couldn’t see out of his right eye earlier in the fight!
Gustafsson able to get Teixeira back down. Teixeira gets to his knees and stands again. Half the round remaining as Gustafsson lands a knee upstairs.
jab lands for Gustafsson as Teixeira comes forward. Front kick to the body. Uppercuts just missing from Gustafsson, but then one does find the mark.
Jab and then a body kick for Gustafsson. Another kick and punch. Teixeira lands few hooks. Sneaky jab from Gustafsson. Big uppercut snaps Teixeira’s head back, but he just motions for the Swede to come at him again!
What a chin on Teixeira! He’s taken a lot of punishment here tonight though. Oblique kick from ‘The Mauler’. Another right hand gets through. Gustafsson is back to his old self tonight after a disappointing display last time out.
If he can continue this he’ll be a worth title challenger for the winner of Jones Vs Cormier II, but there’s two rounds to go and Teixeira is still dangerous and swinging for the fences.
Round Four:
Leg kick for Gustafsson. Now one to the body. Punch to the body now as Gustafsson continues to switch things up. Teixeira connects.
Nice left hook for Gustafsson. He runs away again as Teixeira stalks him.
That big uppercut lands again for Gustafsson and then a hard elbow too. Now Gustafsson takes the clinch against the cage now with more than half the round remaining.
Suddenly Gustafsson lands a few more hard uppercuts as they break apart. Front kicks flashing at Teixeira from Gustafsson now.
Clinch in the center of the Octagon and Teixeira works to the body and head before they separate.
Left hand for Teixeira. Now a right over the top. In close he lands a right hook. He snaps Teixeira’s head back yet again with an uppercut.
Left hand and a body kick for the Swede who’s thrown everything but the kitchen sink at his opponent, yet can’t put him away.
Another uppercut lands. Teixeira struggling to puts his own fists to face right now. Teixeira’s head involuntarily looks skyward again as that uppercut connects for the final time in the round.
Round Five:
Jab for Gustafsson. Body kick for Teixeira. Lots of movement from Gustafsson. He misses with the uppercut for a change. Big left and a right hand connects for Teixeira.
Light jabs from Gustafsson to set up the uppercut. Two more uppercuts follow and Texeira’s rocked! His legs are giving out on him and Gustafsson make him pay for it by landing a powerful right hand that finally KO’s Teixeira!
That’s it, Gustafsson has finally managed to find a way to stop Teixeira and he claims a terrific KO victory with 1.07mins of the fifth round gone.
There’s no doubt after that – Gustafsson has to get the next title shot at 205lbs against the winner of Cormier Vs Jones II.
In the mean time though, he not only gets to celebrate one of the best wins of his career, but he also proposed to his girlfriend in the Octagon after the fight.
