UFC Fight Night 171: "Smith vs Teixeira" Live Play-By-Play & ResultsThe Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida tonight for UFC Fight Night 171: “Smith vs Teixeira.” The event was headlined by a light heavyweight matchup between Anthony “Lionheart” Smith and fellow contender Glover Teixeira.

In the heavyweight co-main event, “Big” Ben Rothwell battled Ovince “OSP” St. Preux. Alexander “The Great” Hernandez faced off with Drew Dober at lightweight, and Ricky Simón met Ray “The Tazmexican Devil” Borg at bantamweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s card.

 

Glover Teixeira vs Anthony “Lionheart” Smith

Round 1:
Smith struck first with a nice right hand and he followed with a leg kick. Both men threw jabs and Smith landed a big one-two. He followed with another one and a leg kick. Teixeira closed in with three punches and Smith immediately fired back with a combination before stuffing a takedown. Teixeira landed two left hooks and time was called after Smith was struck in the groin. Action continued after a delay and Smith landed a hard right cross. He continued to score with punches, but Teixeira answered back with three consecutive leg kicks. Teixeira blocked a head kick and looked for a takedown, but Smith easily stayed on his feet. Smith landed two kicks and Teixeira backed him up with a lead left hook. 10-9 Smith.

Round 2:
Teixeira landed leg kicks and jabs in the second round as he looked to close the distance. Smith fired back with short right hands and a spinning back elbow attempt that missed. He stuffed a Teixeira takedown attempt and landed a standing back elbow. Two overhand rights scored for Smith and Teixeira’s left eye immediately swelled up. Teixeira responded by walking forward with heavy shots and Smith retreated to the cage. Teixeira, despite his left eye badly swelling up, landed a combination of punches and a knee, followed by a body kick. Teixeira landed more punches and a spinning back kick to the body that bounced Smith off of the cage. 10-9 Teixeira.

Round 3:
Teixeira kept the pressure on with punches in the third round until he hurt Smith with a right hook and followed with more punches. A left hook behind the ear dropped Smith to the mat and Teixeira teed off with punches from back control and S-mount. He briefly moved to full mount, but Smith kicked off of the cage and tried to get back to his feet. Teixeira held him down in a seated position and landed more punches and elbows that eventually cut Smith’s left ear. Smith rolled to his back and Teixeira continued to punish him with strikes from the top until the bell. 10-8 Teixeira.

Round 4:
Teixeira hurt Smith with an uppercut and an overhand right to begin round four. Smith backed up, but he recovered and threw a combination of punches and elbows in return. Teixeira hurt Smith again with uppercuts and Smith began to bleed heavily from the mouth and nose. Teixeira landed more punches on the ground, but Smith managed to battle back up to his feet. Both fighters landed haymaker right hands and Teixeira took Smith back down. He continued to strike from the top and tried briefly to secure an arm-triangle choke. Smith escaped, but Teixeira postured up with hard punches before the end of the round. 10-8 Teixeira.

Round 5:
Teixeira took Smith down and passed to side control and then to mount. He immediately postured up with heavy punches and the fight was stopped.

Winner: Glover Teixeira by TKO (Punches) at 1:04 of round five. He improves to 31-7-0.

 

“Big” Ben Rothwell vs Ovince “OSP” St. Preux

Round 1:
St. Preux darted in and out while keeping his distance from Rothwell, who eventually landed three short uppercuts in close. St. Preux continued to circle as Rothwell walked him down with more power punches. A left hook landed for St. Preux and he followed with a head kick soon after, but Rothwell caught it and took St. Preux down into a power guillotine choke. St. Preux broke Rothwell’s grip, but Rothwell kept him pinned down in a kneeling position against the base of the cage. He landed short right hands until St. Preux stood up late in the round. 10-9 Rothwell.

Round 2:
The pace was measured in the opening minute of round two until Rothwell closed in and landed a hard uppercut in close. He held St. Preux against the cage and threw more uppercuts until St. Preux circled away. Rothwell landed an overhand right and a pair of lunging hooks before clinching once more. St. Preux initially countered with some uppercuts of his own, but Rothwell reversed the clinch again and peppered him with punches and a kick to the chest. Rothwell fought through lead left hands from St. Preux and clinched with him again. He looked for a takedown and St. Preux defended. After St. Preux escaped from the clinch, he dropped Rothwell momentarily with a counter left hook as Rothwell pressed forward. Rothwell stood and the fighters exchanged short punches. 10-9 Rothwell despite the late knockdown.

Round 3:
Rothwell chased after St. Preux with left hooks and uppercuts in the final round. St. Preux responded with a combination, but Rothwell hurt him with a body shot and backed him up to the cage. He threw more short uppercuts in close and prevented St. Preux from circling away. With two minutes to go, St. Preux finally broke free from Rothwell’s grasp and he landed hooks and uppercuts as Rothwell pressed forward. Rothwell continued to walk him down and he alternated between knees and uppercuts while holding St. Preux against the fence. In the final 15 seconds, St. Preux landed two hooks over the top and Rothwell spun him around with a right hand. More punches were exchanged and Rothwell was dropped by a punch that landed just after the bell sounded. 10-9 Rothwell, but the round and fight could go either way.

Winner: Ben Rothwell by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 38-12-0.

 

Drew Dober vs Alexander “The Great” Hernandez

Round 1:
The fight began with an exchange of straight punches and body kicks, with Dober following up with a nice left cross. Hernandez secured a takedown and Dober worked back to his feet against the cage. Both men landed punches on the break and Dober opened a small cut above Hernandez’s right eye. Hernandez landed a body kick and Dober snapped his head back with two quick punches. A step-in right hand landed for Hernandez, but Dober responded by rushing forward with punches that forced Hernandez to circle away. Dober stuffed a takedown and Hernandez landed a right cross and a kick to his left forearm. A big flurry scored for Dober and Hernandez circled to the side once more. Dober jabbed and the fighters traded looping punches before the bell, with Hernandez inadvertently poked in the eye during the exchange. Close round. 10-9 Dober.

Round 2:
Dober sustained an eye poke early in round two, but he was able to continue after a short break and Dober walked Hernandez down with one-two combos. He stuffed a takedown attempt from Hernandez and kicked to the body. Hernandez circled and jabbed, but Dober connected with another one-two and he followed with more overhand punches. Hernandez continued to circle and Dober mixed up his strikes with combinations of leg kicks and overhand lefts. Both men threw power punches and Dober briefly dropped Hernandez with a combination to the liver and head. Hernandez responded with a much-needed takedown and he threw elbows and punches from the top. Dober scrambled up to his feet and he rocked Hernandez with big left and right hooks. Hernandez tried unsuccessfully for a desperation takedown and Dober unloaded with more punches. Hernandez wilted against the cage and the fight was stopped.

Winner: Drew Dober by TKO (Punches) at 4:25 of round two. He improves to 23-9-0, 1 NC.

 

Ricky Simón vs Ray “The Tazmexican Devil” Borg

Round 1:
Simón flurried to the body and used an overhand right to set up a takedown in the opening minute. He struck from the top until Borg scrambled back up to his feet against the cage. Borg countered a second takedown with a guillotine choke, but Simón freed himself and he landed left hands to Borg’s face on the way up. Borg responded with a quick combination and he fired off another flurry to the body. Simón got him down once more and threw knees to the thighs as Borg stood up. He tripped Borg again and worked for a shoulder choke from the top late in the round. 10-9 Simón.

Round 2:
Borg landed a hard right hand early in the second round, but Simón took him down once again. Borg worked his way back up and he landed quick jabs and a spinning back elbow. Simón flurried to the body and he countered a jumping knee attempt with a hard jab. Borg fought off a takedown, but Simón continued to outstrike him and he mixed up more strikes to the body and head. Simón took Borg down into back control and he maintained a clinch as Borg stood up. Borg broke free and he landed a hard right hook and an uppercut. Simón threw two punches in return before time expired. Close round. 10-9 Simón.

Round 3:
Simón opened the final round with a combination to Borg’s head, but Borg quickly countered with two left hooks to the liver. He landed a quick combo and an uppercut before Simón clinched and took him down into side control. Borg initiated a scramble and he briefly took top position. Simón reversed into back control and he held Borg against the cage as the fighters stood. Simón broke free with an elbow over the top and Borg responded with a head kick. He followed with a Superman Punch and Simón answered with a jumping switch knee. The fighters talked back and forth while exchanging power punches in the final seconds of the fight. 10-9 Simón.

Winner: Ricky Simón by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 16-3-0.

 

Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski vs Philipe “Monstro” Lins

Round 1:
Lins landed early jabs and a leg kick and he followed with an overhand right. The fighters traded punches in a brief exchange and Lins landed a hard right hook that backed Arlovski up. Big punches landed for both men and Lins followed with another leg kick. He landed a one-two as Arlovski closed in with a right hook. A brief clinch followed and Arlovski connected with a spinning backfist after the break. Lins walked forward with a leg kick and a one-two late in the round. 10-9 Lins.

Round 2:
Both men continued to score with jabs and hooks in the second round, but Lins appeared to slow down. He still walked forward with combinations, but Arlovski answered with two quick punches and a glancing head kick. Time was called when Arlovski was kicked in the groin. Action eventually resumed after a significant delay and both men landed heavy punches in an exchange. Lins connected with the harder shots and Arlovski circled to the side. Lins landed a right cross and Arlovski answered with a leg kick at the bell. 10-9 Lins.

Round 3:
Lins remained the aggressor in the final round and both fighters landed combinations. Lins closed in with a hard flurry and Arlovski circled away after switching stances. He broke free from a clinch with an elbow over the top, which led to another exchange of power punches. Arlovski flurried again and Lins responded with a right hook to the jaw. Arlovski landed one more combination late in the close round. 10-9 Arlovski.

Winner: Andrei Arlovski by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 29-19-0, 2 NC.

 

Thiago Moises vs Michael “The Menace” Johnson

Round 1:
Johnson targeted Moises’s body with punches and a kick early on, and he thwarted two of Moises’s takedown attempts. Moises partially landed with a head kick and he threw two more kicks before Johnson answered with a body kick and a straight left hand. He finished a combination with a leg kick and kept Moises on the defensive with more punches. Johnson pressured with a variety of body shots as Moises could do little more than circle from one side to the other. 10-9 Johnson.

Round 2:
Moises began round two by immediately diving at Johnson’s leg and he got him down against the base of the cage. Moises quickly locked on an Achilles lock and Johnson, clearly in great pain, tapped out.

Winner: Thiago Moises by Submission (Achilles Lock) at 0:25 of round two. He improves to 13-4-0.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)