Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Nashville & The LHW Contender Fight
3. Quick Stats
4. Main Event: Teixeira Outworks Saint Preux
5. Amanda Nunes’ Breakout Win & The Supporting Card
6. Full Results
7. Bonuses & Awards
8. Records & Milestones
9. Legacy & Impact
10. FAQ
Introduction
UFC Fight Night 73: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux took place on Saturday, August 8, 2015 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 to 1.16 million average viewers (1.36M peak). The card drew 7,539 fans. The main event was a light heavyweight bout between former title challenger Glover Teixeira and Tennessee resident Ovince Saint Preux in front of a home crowd that backed OSP loudly throughout.
Teixeira survived early adversity and submitted OSP with a rear-naked choke in round three to earn Fight of the Night alongside his opponent. Amanda Nunes earned Performance of the Night for her first-round submission of Sara McMann — the biggest win of her career at that point and an early signal of the dominant championship run that would follow. Marlon Vera earned the other PoN for a come-from-behind second-round submission of Roman Salazar. Derek Brunson stopped Sam Alvey in round one.
Nashville & The LHW Contender Fight
Nashville — the ‘Music City’ — had hosted multiple major UFC events throughout the 2010s and the Bridgestone Arena provided a quality combat sports venue. Ovince Saint Preux had built his fanbase in Tennessee through years of fighting in regional promotions before his UFC arrival, and Nashville’s crowd embraced him as their own. Teixeira, a Brazilian LHW who had fought Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones at the highest level, was re-establishing himself in the contendership picture after his title fight loss to Jones at UFC 172 in April 2014.
The fight’s narrative arc reflected its geography: Teixeira fighting in hostile crowd conditions against a local favourite who had significant knockout power, with the Nashville audience willing OSP to the finish in each round. Teixeira’s third-round submission comeback — after OSP had been competitive through the early rounds — was the kind of result that builds long-term respect for both fighters. OSP showed power and heart; Teixeira showed championship-level composure.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, August 8, 2015
📍 Venue: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
👥 Attendance: 7,539
📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 — 1.16M avg. viewers (1.36M peak, 306k FS2 prelims)
🏆 Main Event: Glover Teixeira vs. Ovince Saint Preux — Light Heavyweight (OSP was Tennessee hometown fighter; Nashville crowd behind him)
✅ Result: Teixeira def. OSP via Technical Submission (RNC) — R3, 3:10 (FotN $50k each)
Main Event: Teixeira Outworks Saint Preux
Ovince Saint Preux entered Nashville with a 19-6 record and one of the LHW division’s most dangerous power striking arsenals. He had scored KOs over Soa Palelei, Ryan Jimmo, and Nikita Krylov and was on a significant UFC win streak. Fighting in front of his home-state Tennessee crowd at Bridgestone Arena, he had every incentive to produce a performance. The opening rounds were competitive: Saint Preux used his striking to apply pressure, and the Nashville crowd reacted enthusiastically to his moments of dominance.
Teixeira’s response was methodical. He absorbed the early exchanges, worked his way into the clinch and ground positions, and built conditioning advantages as the fight progressed. By round three, his wrestling and ground control had begun to tell. He secured a rear-naked choke in the third round at 3:10, forcing the tapout. The technical submission reversed the crowd narrative: Nashville had to accept that their fighter had been outworked over fifteen minutes. Both fighters earned Fight of the Night, reflecting the competitive earlier rounds. Teixeira re-established himself as a legitimate LHW contender post-fight.
Amanda Nunes’ Breakout Win & The Supporting Card
Amanda Nunes’ first-round RNC of Sara McMann was the most significant career moment she had produced in the UFC to that point. McMann — an Olympic silver medallist in wrestling and a former UFC BW title challenger against Ronda Rousey — was a top-five ranked bantamweight with legitimate credentials. Nunes submitted her in 2:53 of round one. The finish earned Performance of the Night and signalled the quality of the fighting that Nunes would later deliver as a dominant champion at multiple weight classes.
Marlon Vera’s Performance of the Night came from a come-from-behind second-round triangle armbar victory over Roman Salazar. Vera, fighting out of Ecuador, had been submitted in his UFC debut but showed the submission finishing ability that would later make him a top-five bantamweight and UFC title challenger. Derek Brunson’s first-round TKO of Sam Alvey continued his UFC winning streak and reinforced his status as a dangerous top-ten middleweight.
Full Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Glover Teixeira def. Ovince Saint Preux — Technical Submission (RNC) — R3, 3:10 — Light Heavyweight (FotN $50k each; OSP Tennessee hometown fighter; Teixeira comeback submission)
Beneil Dariush def. Michael Johnson — Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) — Lightweight
Derek Brunson def. Sam Alvey — TKO (punches) — R1, 2:19 — Middleweight (questionable stoppage per some observers)
Jared Rosholt def. Timothy Johnson — Unanimous Decision (29-28x3) — Heavyweight
Amanda Nunes def. Sara McMann — Submission (RNC) — R1, 2:53 — Women’s Bantamweight (PoN $50k; BIGGEST WIN of Nunes’ career to that point; future dominant UFC BW+FW champion; McMann was a former title challenger)
Ray Borg def. Geane Herrera — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — Flyweight
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 2 / UFC Fight Pass)
Uriah Hall def. Oluwale Bamgbose — TKO (punches) — R1, 2:32 — Middleweight
Marlon Vera def. Roman Salazar — Submission (triangle armbar) — R2 — Bantamweight (PoN $50k; come-from-behind; future UFC BW title challenger)
Tom Watson def. [opponent] — Middleweight
Jonathan Wilson def. Chris Dempsey — Light Heavyweight
Scott Holtzman def. Takashi Christodoulou — Lightweight
Sirwan Kakai def. [opponent] — Bantamweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Glover Teixeira + Ovince Saint Preux — $50,000 each
🥇 Performance of the Night: Amanda Nunes + Marlon Vera — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• Amanda Nunes’ biggest UFC win — first-round RNC of Sara McMann (former BW title challenger; Olympic silver medallist in wrestling).
• 1.16 million viewers on FS1 — the highest viewership for any 2015 Fight Night card on Fox Sports 1 up to that date.
• 13 fights on the card — one of the larger Fight Night cards of 2015.
Legacy & Impact
Amanda Nunes’ Nashville win over McMann is retrospectively one of the clearest early data points of her eventual dominance. She would go on to win the UFC BW title from Miesha Tate at UFC 200 in July 2016, defend it against Valentina Shevchenko and Raquel Pennington, and add the UFC FW title with a 48-second KO of Cris Cyborg at UFC 232 in December 2018. The McMann submission in round one was the first evidence of the finishing efficiency that defined her championship era.
Marlon Vera’s Nashville PoN triangle armbar was an early chapter of a UFC bantamweight career that produced a UFC BW title shot against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 277 in July 2022. Teixeira’s submission of OSP was a mid-career rebuild moment; he would challenge for the LHW title at UFC 179 and eventually win the UFC LHW title at UFC 266 in September 2021 against Jan Błachowicz at age 41 — the oldest first-time UFC champion in history.
FAQ
Was the Brunson vs. Alvey stoppage genuinely controversial?
The stoppage of Derek Brunson’s TKO win over Sam Alvey generated criticism at the time: some observers felt referee Jerin Valel intervened while Alvey was still attempting to defend and had not been rendered fully defenceless. Early UFC stoppages are an ongoing tension in the sport — protecting fighters from unnecessarily absorbing additional punishment versus allowing genuinely competitive action to continue. The Brunson/Alvey case was typical of this debate: the stoppage was consistent with current refereeing standards even if a more conservative referee might have allowed another exchange or two.
What was Sara McMann’s record and credentials before fighting Nunes?
McMann was a 2004 Olympic bronze medallist in freestyle wrestling (one of the first women to qualify) who had converted to MMA with a 8-1 record before the Nunes fight. She had challenged Ronda Rousey for the UFC BW title at UFC 170 in February 2014, losing by TKO via body knee in round one in a controversial stoppage. Her grappling credentials were elite. Nunes’ submission of McMann in 2:53 of round one — using a rear-naked choke against a decorated wrestler — was a technically impressive finish that demonstrated Nunes’ jiu-jitsu capability in addition to her striking.
Where was Ovince Saint Preux in the LHW rankings at this point?
Saint Preux had risen to the top-ten of the UFC LHW rankings based on his finishing wins. The Nashville loss to Teixeira was his third career loss and second at LHW. He subsequently won four fights in 2016 before receiving a UFC LHW title shot against Daniel Cormier at UFC 197 in April 2016, losing by first-round choke. His career was built on stunning KO power and a durable chin capable of absorbing punishment while looking for the finish. The Teixeira loss demonstrated that his grappling defence could be exploited by elite wrestling-based fighters.
What was Marlon Vera’s career trajectory after Nashville?
Vera’s triangle armbar comeback win in Nashville was an early chapter of a BW career that made him one of the division’s most dangerous finishers. His subsequent UFC wins over Brian Kelleher, Davey Grant, Guido Cannetti, and Frankie Edgar established him as a legitimate contender. His most high-profile win was a second-round TKO of Dominick Cruz at UFC Fight Night in August 2022. He received a UFC BW title shot against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 277 in July 2022, losing by unanimous decision. His Nashville PoN was the first evidence of his finishing ability at UFC level.
Did Teixeira’s Nashville win eventually lead to a title shot?
Not immediately. Teixeira continued building his record with wins over Patrick Cummins and Jan Błachowicz before an injury halted his momentum. After a subsequent loss to Alexander Gustafsson and a recovery period, he put together a run starting around 2019 that produced wins over Karl Roberson, Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and Ion Cutelaba. His UFC LHW title win came against Błachowicz at UFC 266 in September 2021, making him the oldest first-time UFC champion at 41 years old. The Nashville submission was a mid-career data point, not a title path.
What was the significance of 1.16 million viewers for a 2015 Fight Night?
The 1.16M average viewership for UFC Fight Night 73 was among the higher Fight Night TV numbers of 2015. The Nashville market, the quality of the card, and the home fighter appeal of OSP contributed to a strong viewership performance. Fox Sports 1 Fight Night cards in 2015 typically drew between 600,000 and 950,000 average viewers; the Nashville card’s 1.16M placed it in the upper tier. The peak of 1.36M reflected audience concentration around the main event.