Teixeira upsets Santos with submission in UFC main event

Glover Teixeira submitted Thiago Santos at 1:49 of the third round in the light heavyweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Teixeira was on the bottom of Santos after getting dropped just seconds into the third frame, but he reversed the position and immediately took Santos' back. Teixeira locked in a rear-naked choke and forced his opponent to tap.

The 41-year-old had to battle through adversity to secure the victory, as he was badly hurt twice in the contest. Santos stunned Teixeira with a barrage of strikes in the first minute of the opening round, but the veteran survived and secured a takedown, marking the turning point of the bout.

From there, Teixeira dominated Santos on the ground with a variety of strikes, including elbows and hammerfists.

In the second round, Teixeira immediately took "Marreta" down and battered him with strikes, often getting into full mount. He locked in a rear-naked choke in the closing seconds of the frame, but time ran out, allowing Santos to make it to the third.

Teixeira went for a takedown early in the third round but Santos stunned him with a left hand. Santos landed vicious ground-and-pound and it looked like Teixeira was out of the fight, but Santos gave up position and Teixeira quickly got into full mount, which led to the fight-ending submission.

With the victory, Teixeira has won five straight bouts and will likely be the No. 1-ranked light heavyweight once the standings are updated next week.

Many originally considered this a title eliminator, but UFC president Dana White said last week that middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be 205-pound titleholder Jan Blachowicz's next opponent.

Santos returned from a lengthy layoff due to a knee injury he suffered in a July 2019 title fight against Jon Jones. Santos lost that bout via split decision and has now dropped two in a row.