On a slow sports night, UFC 275 presented one of the most stacked cards fans have seen this year, and it delivered. Aided by a number of amazing performances live from The Octagon inside Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, it didn’t take long for #UFC275 to trend on Twitter. With two championship fights and a third between former champions, the buzz only grew as the evening went on. From stunning knockouts, five-round brawls, and the retirement of a legend, UFC 275 had the world talking.
It Just Hits Different
There’s a UFC event nearly every week but once a month, fans are treated to the best the league has to offer with the pay-per-view events. Professional Fortnite and Apex Legends gamer Nickmercs of FaZe Clan notices it too, tweeting, “Saturdays hit different when we got UFC PPV on the screen!” After months of build-up, the energy was high for UFC 275.
Saturdays hit different when we got @UFC PPV on the screen! Who y’all got tonight?! And aye, keep an eye out during the main card 👀 #UFC275
— FaZe Nickmercs (@NICKMERCS) June 12, 2022
Woke Up and Chose Violence
In just the second fight of the night, UFC newcomer Silvana Gomez Juarez set the bar for the rest of the card. Not even two minutes into the first round, she delivered a massive shot with her right hand on Liang Na, rocking her opponent. It took a couple of follow-up blows to seal the deal, but the fight was already done. Such an early finish in one of the first events on the card, welterweight contender Belal Muhammad accurately noted, ” Oooohhhhhh Juarez woke up and chose violence.” For Juarez, it proved to be a wise business decision as she was one of five fighters to receive a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus from the UFC.
Oooohhhhhh Juarez woke up and chose violence
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) June 11, 2022
Anything You Can Do…
While he was preparing for his own fight against Steve Garcia, Maheshate must have caught the Juarez fight and chose violence as well. With Garcia pressing the action, the Contender Series alumn launched a right hand while backpedaling that caught Garcia square on the left side of his face. Garcia instantly hit the mat and the fight was over just 1:14 into the first round, eight seconds quicker than Juarez finished Na. Former professional football player and current partner of Daniel Cormier on the DC & RC podcast, Ryan Clark had no time for spellcheck, firing off, “What just happen!!” with four fire emojis. The quick finish surely caught everyone off guard.
What just happen!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥 @ufc 275
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) June 12, 2022
“Welterweights Look Out”
Current featherweight champion Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski knows a thing or two about incredible performances. That gives his tweet on Saturday night during the Jake Matthews – Andre Fialho fight so much credibility. “Daaaaamn @JakeMatthewsUFC that was incredible,” he tweeted, “best I’ve ever seen him. Welterweights lookout!” It was in fact an incredible performance for Matthews, ending the hot streak that Fialho had been on through his previous three fights this year. The TKO victory earned him one of the five $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses that were dished out.
Daaaaamn @JakeMatthewsUFC that was incredible…best I’ve ever seen him. Welterweights look out! #ufc275
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) June 12, 2022
Mind-Blowing Back Fist
UFC 275 featured a pair of title events atop the card, but the matchup of Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk had all the trimmings of another championship match, just without the hardware. Each has previously worn the black and gold of a champion in The Octagon. Still, just how the battle between the two greats would play out was difficult to figure out leading into the match.
Both women fought hard through the first round and continued strong into the second. All of a sudden, just halfway through the round, Weili perfectly executed a spinning back fist that caught an unsuspecting Jedrzejczyk on the right side of her head and dropped her. “Oh. My. Gawwdddd,” women’s flyweight fighter Tracy Cortez tweeted, adding the “mind-blown” emoji, accurately summing up what everyone just witnessed.
Oh. My. Gawwdddd 🤯
— Tracy Cortez Year (@TracyCortezmma) June 12, 2022
Retirement of a Legend
There was talk of retirement entering UFC 275, swirling primarily around light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira. Still, there was a conversation that it could be the last time fans saw Jedrzejczyk enter The Octagon as well. The latter would prove to be correct, as after recovering from the shot by Weili, Jedrzejczyk took to the microphone to thank the crowd, the UFC, and the workers around the UFC for supporting her career, announcing her retirement. She leaves the sport as one of the best to ever do it, prompting former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira to tweet, “That was an honor to be one of the witness[es] [to] your GREAT career,” thanking her.
That was an honor to be one of the witness your GREAT career @joannamma
Thank you#UFC275
— Charles 'DoBronxs' Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) June 12, 2022
Split Opinions On the Split Decision
In the evening’s co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko was a heavy betting favorite to successfully defend her women’s flyweight title for the seventh time. Her opponent Taila Santos told the media this week that she and her team noted “flaws” in Shevchenko’s game that they would exploit. The champion brushed the comment off but learned of the truth behind them in The Octagon at UFC 275. Santos, many believed, had the lead through the early rounds, generating talk of an upset. Welterweight contender Stephen Thompson was feeling it too, tweeting, “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say Shevchenko needs a finish?!”
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say Shevchenko needs a finish?! 😬😬😬 #UFC275
— Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (@WonderboyMMA) June 12, 2022
As the fight went the distance, Thompson’s sentiment was in the minds of many, questioning just how the officials would score the five rounds. The final call was a split decision, which in itself many may not have an argument with. On Twitter, however, there was a lot of disapproval of the one judge who scored the fight 49-46 in favor of the champion. Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo was one of them, tweeting, “I love Valentina and I’m a fan of Valentina, but the scoring criteria needs to improve. Keep the sport honest people. 49-46?!?”
I love Valentina and I’m a fan of Valentina, but the scoring criteria needs to improve. Keep the sport honest people. 49-46?!?@AnaKarolinaFr #UFC275 pic.twitter.com/Taj4HUGxXM
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) June 12, 2022
Plot Twist After Plot Twist
The main event between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochaska at UFC 275 may just be the fight of the year. It could even be in the conversation for one of the best fights of all time. 42-year-old Teixeira traded blow after blow with the much younger Prochaska in a bloody affair. Just when it looked like one was about to finish the other, the tides would turn and completely change people’s minds.
UFC featherweight Cub Swanson tweeted, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a consistent back and forth war. I love it”. Women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña echoed Swanson, saying, “This fight has everything! Strikes, subs, wrestling, back and forth action! What a fight!” BT Sport social media publisher Chamatkar Sandhu found the perfect meme to capture the bout too.
Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka every few minutes of every round. #UFC275 pic.twitter.com/czKRwAKfgF
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) June 12, 2022
UFC 275 Results
Main Card
- Jiri Prochaska submitted Glover Teixeira by rear naked choke – Round 5
- Valentina Shevchenko defeated Taila Santos – Split Decision
- Zhang Weili KO’d Joanna Jedrzejczyk – Round 2
- Jake Matthews TKO’d Andre Fialho – Round 1
- Jack Della Maddalena TKO’d Ramazan Emeev – Round 1
Prelims
- Josh Culibao defeated SeungWoo Choi – Split Decision
- Maheshate KO’d Steve Garcia – Round 1
- Brendan Allen defeated Jacob Malkoun – Unanimous Decision
Early Prelims
- Kyung Ho Kang defeated Batgerel Danaa – Unanimous Decision
- Silvana Gomez Juarez KO’d Liang Na – Round 1
- Joselyne Edwards defeated Ramona Pascual – Unanimous Decision
