G. Teixeira in victory for the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter @ufcbrasil
It has been five years since Glover Teixeira had his chance to win the UFC light heavyweight title (up to 93kg). With a setback in the first attempt, the Brazilian, who fluctuated in the organization, found a good phase and is aiming for a new fight for the belt soon. The athlete has already charted the path to be able to challenge the champion and, in an interview with 'Combate', he spoke about the future in the sport.
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“This year was a really great year for me in MMA. I fought three times, three victories. I changed some things in my training, I'm training smarter now, with support from the PI (UFC Performance Institute)”, said the Minas Gerais native.
Since debuting in Ultimate in 2012, Teixeira arrived with promising status to haunt the category that, at the time, was already dominated by Jon Jones. With sharp boxing and jiu-jitsu, the athlete collected victims until, after five victories in a row, he had the chance to face 'Bones'.
Against the North American, the athlete had proof that Jon was different. The Minas Gerais native from Sobrália ended up dominated by the champion and was defeated by unanimous decision from the judges in the fight that represented the main attraction of UFC 172.
After the setback, the athlete suffered four defeats for the company; the last one, in July last year, when he was beaten by Corey anderson. After the negative result, Teixeira managed to get back on his feet and, in 2019, he performed on three occasions, winning on all of them. Now, the athlete only thinks about returning to the elite of the category to return, at the age of 40, to trying to win the Ultimate belt.
“There are a lot of new guys just getting to the belt, but I'm super motivated. I would like a rematch with Corey anderson or fight with the Jan Blachowicz. It would be a good fight for me. Who knows, maybe I’ll be facing these guys at the beginning of next year?”, said Glover.
The Brazilian states that the objective, at the moment, is to exchange forces against opponents who can put him back on the board's radar, resulting, in case of victories, in the possibility of fighting for the title again.
“I want to fight these guys who are on the belt line too. I'm a guy who has always fought against the top guys. The guys I lost always fought for the belt, because it was like a fight for the chance to fight for the belt. I lost to (Alexander) Gusafsson and Anthony Johnson and they fought for the belt. Afterwards, I won three fights against really tough guys and now I have to fight a guy with a name like Corey anderson or Blachowciz to get in front of goal again”, declared the light heavyweight.
Interestingly, both Corey and Jan are coming off victories over Brazilian opponents. Anderson recently beat one of the newest Brazilian promises for the category, Johnny Walker, in combat valid for the UFC 244, which took place in early November, in New York.
Blachowicz, in turn, played last Saturday (16), for UFC Sao Paulo, when he defeated Ronaldo Jacare in Espírito Santo's debut in the division.
An MMA professional for 17 years, Teixeira today has a record of 37 fights, with 30 wins and seven losses. His last performance took place in September, when he defeated Nikita Krylov in the judges' split decision.
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