UFC free fight: Glover Teixeira TKOs Misha Cirkunov in Round 1

Glover Teixeira showed his dominance on the mat as he took Misha Cirkunov off his feet and finished him in swift fashion in Winnipeg, Canada.

Teixeira, a former UFC light heavyweight title challenger, faced Cirkunov in December 2017 at UFC on FOX 26 looking to rebound from his knockout loss to Alexander Gustafsson. Meanwhile, Cirkunov was looking to bounce back from a knockout loss of his own, after suffering his first UFC defeat at the hands of Volkan Oezdemir.

Teixeira’s experience advantage was evident when he was able to weather an early storm on the feet and take the fight to the mat. With the action on the canvas, it didn’t take long for Teixeira to change the course of the fight, scoring a first-round TKO finish of Cirkunov via ground and pound.

Since then, Teixeira (31-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) has won four of his past five to move back into title contention at 205 pounds. He returns to action Saturday when he takes on fellow former title challenger Thiago Santos (21-7 MMA, 13-6 UFC) in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 40, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Before he faces Santos, relive Teixeira’s finish of Cirkunov in the video above.