Ex-UFC Champ Glover Teixeira Itching to Fight Again, but Plans on Staying Retired: ‘I’m Enjoying the Moment’
As much as Glover Teixeira may miss competing inside the Octagon, the former light heavyweight champion has no intentions of canceling his retirement.
After two decades and more than 40 fights, Teixeira walked away from MMA following back-to-back losses against Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. Before that, he made history by becoming the oldest fighter to become a first-time UFC champion at 42.
Today, Teixeira can regularly be seen working alongside and cornering current light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, though he can’t help, but sometimes wish that it was him making the walk on fight night.
“I told ‘Poatan’ [Pereira] when we were waiting to walk out [at UFC 295] that I missed that a little bit,” Glover Teixeira stated in the interview. “But that’s not something I did for money, I did it because I really loved it. I miss the old times, but I it’s not like I think about coming back.
“I’m enjoying the moment. I don’t know what it is, but I’m in a state in my life, even before I won the belt, that I’m in a state of appreciation, of gratitude for having everything I have and accomplishing everything I’ve accomplished.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
Teixeira Says Father Time Finally Caught Up to Him
During his decade-long run with the UFC, Glover Teixeira earned victories over some of the biggest names in the division, including Jan Blachowicz, Thiago Santos, Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith, Jared Cannonier, Rashad Evans, Ryan Bader, and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson.
“It’s an immense joy of simply being alive,” Teixeira continued. “We don’t know when we’re leaving. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, you get confused sometimes, so I call Lyoto [Machida] to talk, because he’s been through that, as well. But I’m in a comfort zone, you know? I’m very comfortable where I’m at right now, and sometimes we think like, ‘You have to get out of your comfort zone.’ But where to?”
“Fighting, maybe that would get me out of a comfort zone. I was fighting and enjoying the hell out of it. I simply stopped fighting because I thought I lost to some guys — even Jiri [Prochazka], and that last fight with Jamahal. Not taking anything away from those guys, but I felt it was the age factor, really. I was getting slower, weaker. F*ck, 35-year-old me would trash those guys. But it’s time, right?”
Teixeira retired with a record of 16-7 under the UFC banner, 33-9 overall. To this day, he still holds the record for the most finishes and the most submissions in light heavyweight history. He also has the most post-fight bonuses in the division’s history, cashing ten $50,000 checks.
