The Final Stand: Glover Teixiera
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It’s no secret to fans of the sport that MMA is a very unforgiving sport. Whether it be complete mismatches that end up with one of our favorites eating canvas, or a retirement fight going sour as the new generation swarms in to clear out the old, there can be very few moments where a majority of the community can find peace and happiness with the results of a bout.
In recent times, we’ve had Charles Oliviera, for instance, when he finished Michael Chandler to gain a world title after a eleven year run with the company where he amassed an eight fight winning streak beforehand.
Yes, for a veteran of the sport, this was the best possible outcome after a career filled with struggle and heartbreak. A result every fan could be happy about.
Another good example would be Brandon Moreno. After two losses in the organization, the twenty-three year old at the time was cut from the UFC. After winning his one bout in LFA, he would be resigned and fight four times before fighting current UFC champion Deiveson Figueiredo in what would be the first of a quadrilogy.
Though he did not end up winning the first bout— in a majority draw— he would rematch the champion in the summer of July 2022. It would be there that he would touch UFC gold for the first time by submitting “The God Of War”
And just like that.. the now twenty eight year old fighter from Mexico became a UFC champion.
Believe it or not, every person listed above has a reason for being here. They all share two similarities.
One is their heartwarming victories as the underdog in the bouts. Finally achieving their dreams of gold in their respective divisions.
And the second is their eventual loss of the title.
Charles Oliveira would lose his title when he failed to make weight against Justin Gaethje, and would lose the fight after to regain it against 23-1 Islam Makhachev.
Brandon Moreno would lose the third fight in a semi-competitive matchup against flyweight rival Figueiredo.
Glover Texeira now finds himself in a similar situation.
Glover would enter the UFC with an 18-2 record at 32 years old, where he would submit Kyle Kingsbury in the first round.
He would ride this victory into a four fight winning streak before facing off against the current — at the time — Light Heavyweight champion and future Hall of Famer Jon Jones.
This fight would be the start of a career that would face many ups and downs, losing to the likes of Phil Davis, Anthony Johnson, and Corey Anderson.
However, after his fight with Anderson, Glover would revitalize his career by accruing a five fight win streak, where he would finish four of his opponents.
Now was his chance for another shot at Light Heavyweight gold. All the 42-year-old fighter had to do was beat the current champion, Jan Blachowicz.
The 39-year-old Polish fighter was also experiencing a resurgence in his career. After losing to Thiago Santos in 2019, Jan would go on win four straight fights, knocking out Corey Anderson and even finishing Dominick Reyes, who was believed to be the favorite leading up to the bout.
After this, Blachowicz would defend his title against former middleweight champion, Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya, where he would look impressive on the feet and manage to hold the contender down to keep his title.
So imagine to the surprise of everyone when Glover ended up rocking Jan and submitting him to finally win the belt.
For the veteran, this seemed like a perfect ending to the story. A final chapter that he could live with, knowing he reached the goal he desperately fought for after all of these years.
However, Glover still burned with the passion of the sport, and sought tougher competition in order to fuel the hunger that he still held in his heart.
And the UFC was more than happy to oblige with this.
Jiri Prochazka.
To many fans, he was everything the division needed. An interesting personality that matched his wild fighting style that left many opponents unconscious.
He would take the UFC by storm when he finished Volkan Oezdemir in brutal fashion.
Many fans were excited to see what was next for the 30 year old Czech fighter.
And boy he did not disappoint when he knocked out Reyes in an even more brutal fashion.
Everyone was on the edge of their seat, waiting for the next victim of this mad lad.
So what does the UFC do?
They match him up with Glover, of course.
On paper, it seemed like Jiri would be too much for the former champion. His style would make sure to win him the belt in devastating fashion, as all other fights were for him.
What the fans got, however, was one of the best fights of the year in a back and forth war.
Glover was more than happy to give Jiri everything he had, and Jiri was more than happy to take it and dish back.
Unfortunately for Glover, however, Prochazka would show the heart of a champion, and in the fifth round with less than half of a minute left, Jiri would submit him and win the UFC title.
An unfortunate night for Texieira, and a great ending for Prochazka.
Now, at age 43, Glover hopes to correct the mistake he made at UFC 275 and regain the title in what is likely his last run for the belt.
All of the pressure rides on him, not only for the chance at the gold, but in what will likely be his last bout in the organization should he lose.
Can Glover defy the odds? Will he be able to pull it off, and became a two time UFC champion?
Only time will tell.
No matter what happens, though, Glover can hold his head high knowing he fought the best the division had to offer.
Glover Teixeira, Light Heavyweight’s old guard.
