Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Earlier tonight (Thurs. June 30, 2023), Glover Teixeira and Anthony Smith faced off in the co-main event of the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unlike their first meeting — which cost “Lionheart” a few teeth — this battle would be a jiu-jitsu match entirely without strikes.
The first of three four minute rounds began with a good amount of hand fighting. Eventually, Smith actually pulled guard, but he was unable to destabilize the impressive base of Glover Teixeira. Later, he was taken down and did manage to counter with a nice arm drag, which allowed him to get behind the Brazilian. He wasn’t able to secure the back though, and Teixeira finished the round in half guard.
In the second, Smith landed a slick ankle pick to gain top position. He nearly passed at one point, but instead, Teixeira found a deep half guard sweep in the closing seconds of the round. Smith tried to counter with a guillotine choke, but the strangle failed, and Teixeira finished the round in mount.
After a competitive ten minutes, the match was still up in the air with four minutes remaining. This time, Teixeira left little doubt, bowling Smith over with a clinch takedown then slowly advancing position. He never came close with any submission, but Teixiera kept his hips tight and advanced all the way into mount. The most notable submission attempt of the match and fight was actually an attempted triangle from Smith, but it never came particularly close to forcing the tap.
The end result was a unanimous decision win for the former UFC champion. Check out the highlights below:
Insomnia
Of all the MMA fighters to try to swing at in the training room … Alex Pereira? That’s just bad decision-making.
MLB legend Barry Bonds is a jiu-jitsu blue belt.
Marlon Vera reacts to Henry Cejudo’s injury, which canceled their planned UFC 291 match up.
Georges St. Pierre, looking jacked as ever, is on team ice bath.
Sean Strickland being the face of the UFC Apex is … kind of appropriate?
Mr.Apex!
Sean Strickland will set the record for most main events at The UFC Apex this weekend.
That itself tells a story. pic.twitter.com/8meFNt4WHR
— Andy Hickey MMA (@AndyHickeyMMA) June 29, 2023
Tracy Cortez vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius is actually a really quality Flyweight match up!
… Which one of our readers did this?
48 hours until Guram Kutataladze walks into the Octagon again, KNOCK ON WOOD!
Ed Alvarez wrangled a neat fish.
Ilia Topuria’s footwork and range was on full display last weekend.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
The world needs more “Thugjitsu.”
Yves Edwards is one of the most underrated fighters in MMA history.
Savvy southpaw striker, introduced devastating clinch tactics to UFC before Anderson Silva, beautiful counters, wrist controls, kimura traps… this guy did it all.
FULL CAREER HIGHLIGHT: https://t.co/Zv2I4WN0qO pic.twitter.com/N0uWGerdn6
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) June 27, 2023
I won’t pass up an excuse to post Carlos Condit vs. Robbie Lawler highlights:
Picking the guy up to finish the ninja choke isn’t necessary, but it adds style points!
Random Land
A future UFC champion is found on Reddit.
Midnight Music: Mom pick #2
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
