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Glover Teixeira, the UFC veteran, is reflecting on his final war moment in the octagon. After a career spanning over two decades, Teixeira decided to retire with a record of 33 wins and 9 losses. In his final bout, he faced Jamahal Hill and even though he lost, Teixeira's resilience and tenacity made it a memorable fight.
With only one clear aim, Glover Teixeira headed into the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro to face Jamahal Hill and win back the UFC light heavyweight title. Nevertheless, events did not go as he had anticipated. But he had no intention of hanging up his gloves that evening or calling it a day once he recognized that a 25-minute battle for the gold was the ideal way to close an illustrious career in front of his home crowd.
Teixeira shared his thoughts on his final UFC moment. He talked about the emotions he felt in his final fight and how he remained focused on putting on a great performance, despite the outcome.
“I didn’t have anything planned,” Teixeira said on Tuesday's episode of MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca. “I was getting frustrated in training sometimes because recovery is hard. The way I’m used to training, that brutal training — and that’s something I missed in this fight, being brutal with takedowns. I had many opportunities. I was avoiding [his punches] early, but then he started to connect a lot of punches and cut me. But I could still can block some and fight back. I get cut too easy — I’m like Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz. But I lacked that aggressiveness.”
The former light heavyweight champion expressed that he feels happy about his call to quit. He said that his wife and parents will be at ease now as they won’t be facing such pressure and tension before the fight. MMA is a tough sport where the athletes give their all in. Although he got dominated throughout the bloodbath fight, Teixeira is proud of his commitment to fighting till the end though his eyes were covered with blood.
Teixeira also shared his plans for the future and how he plans to use his experience and skills to give back to the sport. He is looking forward to passing down his knowledge to the next generation of fighters and helping them achieve their goals. Teixeira will keep working out daily to train other professionals, most especially middleweight champion Alex Pereira of the UFC. Despite the retirement call, Glover is still open to fighting for fun and earning some big money.
“I won’t stop training,” Teixeira said. “If there’s an opportunity in the future for a match, do some boxing — [Acelino Freitas] ‘Popo’ boxed [Brazilian YouTuber] Whindersson [Nunes], right? Maybe I’ll fight some heavy guy, a celebrity, and move my body a little bit. Why not, man?”
Looking back on his career, Teixeira is proud of what he has accomplished and grateful for the support he has received from his fans and fellow fighters. He may be retiring from the octagon, but his legacy will live on in the hearts of UFC fans everywhere.
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