St. Preux walked out to the University of Tennessee marching band’s version of “Rocky Top,” but it was opponent Glover Teixeira who came out on top in the UFC Fight Night “Teixeira vs. St. Preux” main event. “OSP” could not defend Teixeira’s takedowns, as the Brazilian succeeded on five of his nine attempts before scoring the rear-naked choke submission 3:10 into round three.
Teixeira endured a tough climb in the headliner, as he was victimized by a devastating liver kick that sent him careening backwards. However, he recovered quickly and continued to fight, showing the resilience that carried him through five rounds in his loss to former champion Jon Jones. This time, however, St. Preux rode his determination to victory.
Teixeira’s walkout song, Pregado Lou’s “Vou Colher Sorrindo,” accurately depicted Beneil Dariush’s experience. “Vou Colher Sorrindo” translates loosely to “I will reap smiling,” and some at the arena and on Twitter -- UFC President Dana White included -- felt Dariush had reaped the benefits of some bad judging during his lightweight co-main event against Michael Johnson. Although Dariush showed new life in the third round, Johnson overwhelmed the Kings MMA product with volume during the first two frames and was visibly displeased with the result.
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However, Dariush “rocked with” Johnson and persevered until the end of the fight, just as his walkout song, Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You,” suggests. He survived Johnson’s striking advances, which included a number of powerful combinations. Dariush attempted to slow down “The Menace” by getting the fight to the ground, but he whiffed on all seven of his takedowns.
It did not seem as though women’s bantamweight Sara McMann listened to her walkout song -- she entered to Disturbed’s “Indestructible” -- on her way to the cage against American Top Team’s Amanda Nunes. After missing the mark on a right kick to the body, McMann ate a stiff counter right hand from Nunes that sent her crumbling to the mat and ultimately led the 2004 Olympic silver medalist to submit to a rear-naked choke.
There were other notable tunes. Motley Crue’s “Shout to the Devil” brought Ray Borg to the cage; former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion Tom Watson entered to Dolly Parton’s “Joelene” before bowing to Chris Camozzi; and Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” ushered in Dustin Ortiz’s arrival.
A full rundown follows:
UFC FIGHT NIGHT ‘TEIXEIRA VS. ST. PREUX’ WALKOUT SONGS
Ovince St. Preux: “Rocky Top Tennessee” | University of Tennessee Marching BandGlover Teixeira: “Vou Colher Sorrindo” | Pregado Lou
Beneil Dariush: “Rock With You” | Michael Jackson
Michael Johnson: “Touched Wit It” Three 6 Mafia
Sam Alvey: “Hey Soul Sister” | Train
Derek Brunson: “679” | Fetty Wap feat. Remy Boyz
Tim Johnson: “Money for Nothing” | Dire Straits
Jared Rosholt: “Lunatic Fringe” | Red Rider
Sara McMann: “Indestructible” | Disturbed
Amanda Nunes: “Harmonia do Samba” | Nova Paradinha
Geane Herrera: “La Tierra” | Juan Estaban Aristizabal
Ray Borg: “Shout to the Devil” | Motley Crue
Oluwale Bamgbose: “Stay and Wait” | Hillsong United
Uriah Hall: “Bad Moon Rising” | Creedence Clearwater Revival
Tom Watson: “Joelene” | Dolly Parton
Chris Camozzi: “Bang” | Tonedeff
Dustin Ortiz: “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” | Johnny Cash
Willie Gates: “Back to Back” | Drake
Sirwan Kakai: “Shook Ones Part II” | Mobb Deep
Frankie Saenz: “Calm Like a Bomb” | Rage Against the Machine
Chris Dempsey: “Bad Company” | Five Finger Death Punch
Jonathan Wilson: “Legend” | Drake
Roman Salazar: “Vivir Mi Vida” | Marc Anthony
Marlon Vera: “Cumbia Chonera” | Don Medardo
Anthony Christodoulou: “To Zeibekiko Tis Evodkias” | Manos Loizos
Scott Holtzman: “Nothing but a Good Time” | Poison