Glover Teixeira and Misha Cirkunov, two UFC light-heavyweight contenders in need of a win, will fight each other in Sao Paulo, Brazil on October 28, it was announced during Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 114 broadcast.
Teixeira and Cirkunov are two of the better fighters in the UFC’s 205lb division, but both have suffered some rough form of late. Cirkunov, a 30-year-old Latvian, was undefeated in the UFC before Volkan Oezdemir had his way with him in just 28 seconds back in May, while 37-year-old Brazilian Teixeira found himself on the receiving end of an Alexander Gustafsson masterclass that same night.
Prior to it all going pear-shaped in Sweden, both men had been ticking along nicely. Teixeira, 26-6, was considered one of the best in the world, having beaten men like ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Ryan Bader and Rashad Evans, and Cirkunov, 13-1, one of the new breed, had scored four straight UFC wins and secured each of them within the distance. But, in the sport of MMA, things quickly change. So it is that, on October 28 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Teixeira and Cirkunov will collide in a crossroads fight neither can afford to lose.
