5 biggest winners from UFC 267: Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira

#2. Petr Yan – defeated Cory Sandhagen to win the interim UFC bantamweight title

Petr Yan outpointed Cory Sandhagen in an instant classic title bout

The last time we saw Petr Yan in action, he was still the undisputed UFC bantamweight champion. He probably should’ve come away from his fight with Aljamain Sterling with his title intact. However, an ill-advised illegal knee saw him lose the bout and the championship via disqualification.

Last night was initially expected to see a rematch between the two. With Sterling sidelined with injury, the UFC put together an interim title fight between Yan and Cory Sandhagen instead.

After that fight, there’s no disputing that Yan is probably still the best 135lber in the UFC. After adjusting following a tricky first round, he found his range and opened up on ‘The Sandman’, hurting him badly on a number of occasions.

While he couldn’t finish Sandhagen, ‘No Mercy’ came away from an action-packed fight as the clear-cut winner, claiming a unanimous decision after winning four out of five rounds.

So can Yan regain his title in the inevitable rematch with Sterling? Based on this, as well as their first meeting, it seems likely. However, it’s easy to forget that Sterling blew Sandhagen away in less than a round, which should be food for thought for doubters of ‘The Funk Master’.

Either way, for winning one of the best UFC title fights in recent memory, Yan is comfortably one of last night’s biggest winners.

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#1. Glover Teixeira – defeated Jan Blachowicz to win the UFC light heavyweight title

Glover Teixeira became the UFC's oldest first time champion with his win over Jan Blachowicz

Naturally, the biggest winner at UFC 267 was Glover Teixeira. Not only did the Brazilian veteran choke out Jan Blachowicz to win the UFC light heavyweight title, but he did it at the age of 42. This makes him the oldest first-time UFC champion in history.

The fight was surprisingly one-sided in favor of Teixeira, who could never have imagined it’d be as easy as it was. The first round saw him take Blachowicz down and unsurprisingly, he dominated him from the top although he couldn’t find a way to finish him.

The second round, though, started more promisingly for Blachowicz. He landed some solid jabs to Teixeira, forcing him backwards. However, when the Brazilian landed a clubbing left hook to stun him, things quickly went downhill for the champ.

Teixeira took him down, passed to mount and, moments later, strangled the Polish fighter to win the UFC light heavyweight title for the first time.

Whether Teixeira can get past the explosive attack of top contender Jiri Prochazka in what will likely be his first title defense is another thing entirely. For now, the Brazilian has pulled off a true fairytale story – and should be considered UFC 267’s biggest winner.