Issue 178
May 2019
From the KO that put him on the map to his gallant title shot, Brazilian legend Glover Teixeira looks back at five of his finest contests.
1. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, WEC 24
That fight changed me. It changed the way I thought. It made me realize that I am going to be a bad motherfucker. You don’t know in the beginning. You train. You hope it’s true but you don’t know. Then you start fighting and you find out.
I knocked Sokoudjou out with a big left hook. Dana White was there. Chuck was there. Chuck jumped into the cage afterward. I spoke to Dana and he said to me to get my shit together and he would put me in the UFC. That’s the fight that ended up putting me on the map.
2. Quentin “Rampage” Jackson, UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson
He was already fighting in PRIDE. We are close to the same age but he started earlier. I watched him fight and everybody was saying they couldn’t wait for me to fight him some day. We had similar styles. That was one of my favorite fights [Teixeira won by unanimous decision.] You visualize this stuff your whole life. Like, can you imagine fighting Rampage some day? It’s like being a kid and saying, Man, can you imagine playing with Tom Brady? Then later on it actually happens. Wow! I am here playing and this guy is still here.
3. Jon Jones, UFC 172
That was my chance for the title. It was a dream that I had to accomplish. It wasn’t a dream to fight for the title, it was my dream to win the title, but even though I lost, I had my chance. I can never say I didn’t have my chance. I fought one of the greatest of all time.
With all that has gone on in his life, I believe he is the greatest of all time, regardless of the steroids, PEDs and other issues. I don’t think that stuff helps the technique, you know? A lot of people take steroids that never accomplish what he did. I hurt my arm in the first round. I started feeling it in the second round. There was even a time in the corner where I said ‘Ice my shoulder. The other shoulder. The other shoulder.’ I felt like I was down on points. Especially after he cut my eye. I got poked in the eyes a few times, too. I had a big gash over my eyes. My chances of winning were going away. I had to reset myself. I knew I had to knock him out. I had to land a punch and knock him out. It had to be a left hook. My right hand was off . I threw the left hook a lot but Jones is Jones, man. He avoided everything. Maybe next time!
4. Ryan Bader, UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Bader
That fight was in my hometown and it was the main event. My whole family was there for the first time. Just to be able to represent and come away with the victory was amazing. It was a great night.
5. Ovince Saint Preux, UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux
He was coming in with a lot of big wins. He knocked out Shogun quick. He was set to be the next guy. I think I was on an 18-fight winning streak and then I fought and lost to Jon Jones. I fought again and lost to Phil Davis. Then I was like ‘What the heck is going on?’ Then, after the Phil Davis fight, I changed my point of view, the way I lived my life, my entire lifestyle.
Before that I was heavy, I love my friends but I stopped hanging out with some of them so much. All they do is drink a lot. I stopped a lot of bad habits before I fought Saint Preux. Even the fight was a comeback for me. He got the best of me in the first round. He landed a kick that threw me off balance. Then I was able to finish the fight. I was nervous for this fight in a way, thinking losing three in a row is not good. But I was so focused and so confident at the same time, the way I was feeling, the way I was training and my confidence just took over.
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