Glover Teixeira’s longevity is the stuff of MMA legends. He made his MMA debut in 2002 and won his first UFC belt 19 years later in 2021. He is now 43 years old and heading into his 4th title fight. Teixeira will take on Jamahal Hill for the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 283.
On many occasions, fans have wondered whether Glover should finally hang up his boots. However, Glover has been proving them wrong every time and thinks UFC 283 will be no different. Glover was asked about his retirement during Brazil’s UFC 283 media scrum. He stressed he was ready to win the light heavyweight championship at UFC 283.
Teixeira told a reporter, “I’m just thinking I’m gonna win the belt and I’m gonna defend it…[It’s] not really going through my mind right now that I’ll retire. You know, I’m in my prime, bro.” It seems Glover Teixeira is going nowhere. He believes that he is in the prime of his career at the age of 43.
And a 6-1 record in his last 7 fights makes it hard to argue with the Brazilian. In view of Teixeira’s comments, fans will be hoping that he sticks around long enough to eventually rematch with Jiri Prochazka. They had one of UFC’s best-ever title fights at UFC 275. But their rematch at UFC 282 fell through after Prochazka’s injury.
Glover Teixeira feels he was better than Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275
Glover Teixeira’s first title defense against Jiri Prochazka was a very close fight. Teixeira had the fight in the bag by the end of the fifth round until Jiri won with a clutch choke in the final 30 seconds. This clutch victory seems to have haunted the Brazilian who also addressed it during the UFC 283 media scrum.
Speaking on fighting worthy opponents, Teixeira brought up Prochazka’s example. He said, “You guys see what happened in the fight. I was beating him. Maybe in the first couple rounds we got close in the standup. But later on I was beating him in every way, standup and the ground. Until a situation happened and I got caught in a choke. But it’s like my defense is much better.”
Glover certainly would have been ahead on the judges’ scorecards at UFC 275. He surprised everyone by outclassing Jiri on the feet. It was an area of the fight game that fans expected Porchazka to dominate. Ultimately, Prochazka simply managed to outlast Teixeira and surprise him with a choke to win the title. And it seems the former champion Teixeira wants a rematch.
