One of the most difficult things about being a high-level athlete in any sport is being compared to the greats who came before you. Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Jerry Rice are all sportsmen viewed as the benchmark for modern-day champions in their respective sporting fields. And in the case of UFC light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira, he’s constantly being compared to one of the best to ever step inside of the Octagon: Chuck Liddell.

As Teixeira sits down on the mats of Team Black House in California, the sun beams through the windows, aiding the large amount of sweat dripping off his forehead. He looks to his right and sees Liddell sat down next to him, also sweating profusely, yet grinning. Even though Liddell is firmly retired, he still comes to train with Teixeira whenever he’s in LA. It’s a relationship that has been built up over years, and one which has been played up in certain circles, many claiming they see a lot of Chuck in Glover.

Those who are comparing the two mixed martial artists have every reason to as well. After all, it’s near impossible to ignore the similarities. Both men share a love for exciting crowds with displays of extreme violence, both have had their skills sharpened by the head coach of The Pit, John Hackleman, and perhaps most importantly, neither man is willing to go down without a fight. With comparisons such as those, it’s easy for most people to connect the two, but for Teixeira it’s not so simple.

“I don’t really agree with that personally. Me and Chuck are different fighters,” Teixeira argues. “He did tell me that I have to excite the fans, because that’s how you get recognized and how fans begin to like you. But me and Chuck are completely different fighters. I’m more of a ground ‘n’ pound guy, whereas Chuck was more of a striker.”

Regardless of his thoughts on the parallels, Teixeira will be the first to acknowledge the role Liddell has played in his career. After losing his June 2002 debut against Eric Schwartz, a fighter who was part of Hackleman’s fight team, Glover was invited to train at The Pit. Three years later, the Brazilian made the move to join the team full-time, where he would not only become Hackleman’s protégé, but Chuck’s too.

Teixeira explains. “Training with Chuck helped me so much, man. His skills and his confidence at the time was part of an incredible experience. It was surreal because I’d been training mixed martial arts for two years and then suddenly I’m training with the UFC light heavyweight champion.”

It’s not very often the rookie of the gym gets to learn from, at that time, the very best in the business. But luckily for Teixeira, Liddell took an interest in the Brazilian. Coming from a jiu-jitsu background, Teixeira was a strong grappler but where he excelled in submitting opponents, he lacked the ability to get them to the ground in the first place. 

Watch Teixeira now and you’d say his ability to take his opponents down and even defend takedowns is one of his strongest qualities. Those are the skills Teixeira attributes directly to working with the Hall of Famer.

“I have to say that my main coach for wrestling is Chuck Liddell. He was the guy who was coaching me from the beginning. He was the one who taught me my first couple of takedowns, and how to get into better positions,” says Glover, who was born in Sobralia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, but moved to the US at the start of the new millennium.

“It me took quite a while to get the hang of wrestling. In the beginning, it was very hard learning how to wrestle, mostly because you have different takedowns in jiu-jitsu and you land in different positions, so for me it was a bit difficult.

“I learned how to strike much faster than I did wrestling, but I’ve focused on so much wrestling because I needed to become a better fighter. This sport is a great sport, but I can’t compare myself to those guys who are All-American wrestlers. But when it comes to wrestling in MMA, my wrestling is pretty good. I manage to combine it with my kick and punch combinations, and it leaves openings to take the guy I’m fighting down much easier.”