So unlikely was Glover Teixeria’s late career resurgence that even his friends doubted he could pull it off.
The 41-year-old Brazilian will challenge for the light heavyweight title against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267 on Saturday. It will be his second attempt at UFC gold, having previously challenged Jon Jones back in 2014, losing via unanimous decision.
Since Jones vacated his light heavyweight title in May last year, the division has seemingly been taken over by the seniors. If Teixeira triumphs on Saturday, he’ll become the oldest light heavyweight champ in UFC history, eclipsing the record set by Blachowicz, who won the strap at 37-years-old.
It would truly be a fairy tale ending to Teixeira’s career, which began way back in 2002 with a TKO defeat in the now-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting Championship. While Glover has never won a title in any franchise, from 2006 until his defeat to Jones in 2014, he went on a whopping 20-fight win-streak, with the last five of those in the UFC. The Brazilian is today similarly riding a five-fight win-streak heading into his second UFC title shot.
Glover Teixeira Credits His Never-Die Attitude For Overcoming Doubters
For Teixeira, it seems age is just a number. Speaking to RT, the 41-year-old says it’s this mentality, coupled with his impregnable self-belief, which has seen him recapture the form that led to his first title shot. Following that defeat to Jones, Glover lost four of his next five fights, which included a 13-second KO to Anthony Johnson, and many, including his friends, thought it impossible that he could bounce back.
“I’m not gonna quit,” said Teixeira. “I’m not gonna stop fighting. I’m gonna fight until I’m outta there, I’m dead, or I win. So in life, it’s just mental. When I lost fights in the past to [Alexander] Gustafsson in old age already, even friends, they like, ‘I don’t think you gonna be back to the top contenders anymore.’ And that’s their opinion, right? That’s not mine. So I just rise above it and I keep believing, believing that I can do it, and I’m here doing it.”
Do you think Glover Teixeira will cap his career with a championship win at UFC 267?