Tallison Teixeira survived a late flurry from Tai Tuivasa to score his ninth career win at UFC 325.
Tuivasa looked to put pressure on Teixeira early, but that allowed the Brazilian to score an easy takedown near the fence. Tuivasa worked his way back up, but Teixeira quickly put him back on the mat, landing in full mount and fishing for an arm-triangle choke.
Tuivasa weathered the storm once again, getting upright with a minute to go in the opening round. ‘Bam Bam’ went right back to applying pressure, pressing Teixeira’s back against the fence and riding out the remainder of the stanza.
Tuivasa didn’t come out with the same urgency in the second, but he found some success on the feet, catching Teixeira with a solid right hand. That prompted Teixeira to shoot for another takedown near the two-minute mark of the round.
‘Bam Bam’ initially defended, but before long, Teixeira got Tuivasa’s back on the mat and kept it there until the horn.
After dominating the first two rounds, Teixeira started to look labored. But instead of taking advantage, Tuivasa opted to clinch against the fence, giving both fighters a bit of a breather.
Following a minute on the fence, Tuivasa separated and put his hands to work, landing a big left hand that had the Brazilian reeling. The onslaught has exhausted Tuivasa, leaving both men sucking wind and putting their hands on their hips.
Tuivasa caught Teixeira with an elbow, prompting Teixeira to shoot for a desperation takedown. Tuivasa sprawled, but couldn’t muster the energy to take advantage of the position, sending us to the scorecards.
Official Result: Tallison Teixeira def. Tai Tuivasa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
