Glover Teixeira feels he has done more than enough to warrant a title shot and will settle for nothing less than a champion opponent for his next fight.
There may be no fighter in the UFC today who has done a better job of defying the odds than Glover Teixeira. Teixeira’s defiance goes beyond odds and upsets, he has even got one over on Father Time, pulling together five consecutive victories while taking on the best of the best.
After being badly beaten by Alexander Gustafsson in 2017 followed by a unanimous-decision loss to Corey Anderson in 2018, it was easy to write Teixeira off as a gatekeeper who would just hang around enough to score a few final paychecks. Three years and five wins later, Teixeira is still here, and he is adamant that his next fight will be for the title. It is for this reason that when the UFC asked Teixeira if he wanted to fight on the UFC 259 card, he opted to take the reserve role for the Adesanya/Blachowicz main event instead.
“When the UFC called me, I was asked if I wanted to fight on the same day,” Teixeira told AG Fight. “I said I wanted to stay in reserve and said I didn’t want to fight anyone at the event other than the belt. Anyway, I would fight a champion, since Adesanya is a middleweight champion too and it would be beneficial But I am sure that my next fight will be for the belt, even if I don’t enter it now.”
In his most recent bout, Teixeira scored the TKO upset win over then-#1 contender Thiago Santos. Now, that #1-contender ranking is occupied by Teixiera. For Teixiera’s sake, the shot at the title will need to come sooner than later, as the 41-year-old does not have time to spare, and Father Time is not one to accept defeat.
Do you think Glover Teixiera should sit out for a world title shot no matter how long it takes?
