Jiri Prochazka will tell anyone who will listen that he is “living the warrior path.”

Midday local time in Kallang, Singapore — late Saturday into early Sunday on the other side of the world in North America — fight fans across the globe saw Prochazka walk that warrior path all the way to UFC gold.

The Czech snatched a win from the gloves of Glover Teixeira, claiming his light heavyweight championship in the process with a fifth-round submission victory just 28 seconds from what almost surely was to be a unanimous decision loss at UFC 275.

“It was a true war,” Prochazka (29-3, 28 finishes) said in the post-fight interview. “Glover is a true warrior, and I like that.”

For 24 minutes, 32 seconds, Prochazka and Teixeira pushed one another to the brink. The 29-year-old challenger would pick apart his foe one minute. The next: the Brazilian would defy his 42 years by delivering a pounding from the mount, battering the man who was just 9 years old when Teixeira (33-8, 28 finishes) turned pro in June 2002.

Teixeira’s bullying barrage from the top built an early two-round lead on the judges’ scorecards. But even as Prochazka dropped each round, he left his mark on the champ as the clear alpha when standing.

Fighting with urgency in the third of five frames, Prochazka carved up the champion whom has long hailed from Danbury, Conn., since immigrating as a young man. It only got worse for Teixeira as the fight hit the floor, with challenger taking his turn at dishing out major damage from the top. Even a last-minute rally from Teixeira only managed to seemingly stave off 10-8 scores from each judge; one official still assessed the action to that degree.

A wild round four pushed the world’s top 205-pounders deeper into hell. Teixiera twice tried to tap Prochazka with arm-triangle attacks — the latter seemingly the closest he would get to ending the fight inside the distance. But Prochazka survived and thrived, dishing out pain of his own in a round that reasonably could have been scored either way.

Unbeknownst to the combatants, Teixeira was in the driver’s seat on the scorecards entering the final five minutes. Two judges had Teixeira up, 39-37, 38-37, while a third had it tied, 38-38. Barring any more 10-8s — a rare score in MMA — Prochazka likely needed a finish to win.

“From my side, it was [a] horrible fight, [a] horrible performance,” Prochazka later told reporters. “You saw the fight. Some moments, I just survived some moments. … My life [stance is] to be dominant in the fight and not just be [the] survivor; to be the hunter.”

The action wasn’t trending his way. Teixeira, now, was landing heavy shots on the feet. Prochazka, now, was on the brink of defeat. But a guillotine choke attempt as the champ had his tenacious challenger on the metaphorical ropes proved costly.

Prochazka weathered the storm, but with a minute remaining still seemed just 60 seconds or less from his first loss in 6 ½ years. And then it happened: he pounced on an opening left by the weary, aging champion, locking in a choke from behind yet neglecting the typical leg hooks for added leverage and control.

Most times in MMA, a rear-naked choke without the hooks fails, especially on a veteran grappler such as Teixeira who’d had his way on the mat with Prochazka several times over the past 24 minutes.

Not this time. Teixeira knew he’d been beaten. It was tap or nap; he chose tap.

“The choke, that came naturally,” Prochazka said in the octagon. “I just watched the moment [and] what opportunities [came] before me.”

In his moment of triumph, Prochazka appeared equal parts pleased and unfulfilled. He spoke of feeling “satisfied” while also critiquing his performance.

The new champ takes nothing away from the old one, telling assembled media later in the night that Teixeira’s grappling “pressure was amazing, still in his age.”

Teixeira later tweeted “Rematch??” while tagging UFC president Dana White, who was not in attendance. He turns 43 in October and spoke in the lead-up to his first title defense of a dream scenario involving a follow-up championship bout at Madison Square Garden, presumably in the traditional early November window.

Perhaps “the warrior path” for Prochazka leads next through New York. What fight fan wouldn’t want that?