JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - MAY 13: Glover Teixeira (R) of Brazil talks with UFC President Dana White (L) after defeating Anthony Smith of the United States in their Light Heavyweight bout during UFC Fight Night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 13, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Glover Teixeira reveals that he plans on pursuing boxing bouts after retiring from MMA
After losing to Jamahal Hill at UFC 283, Glover Teixeira decided to call it quits. After Hill won the main event by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the 43-year-old fighter declared his retirement from professional fighting after 21 years.
Teixeira recently shared the moment he realised his professional path was changing with MMA Fighting’s Trocaço Franca podcast:
“I started my career in the United States and had the opportunity to fight on the Brazilian scene, to know everything about my culture, and then to come back and end my career in Brazil. I’m so happy about everything. I said, ‘This is the moment to move on to another stage.’ If I’m not fighting for the UFC belt, if I don’t have that goal — I’ve never fought only for the belt, but I had that thing of, ‘I’m going after it, I’ll win it again,’ you know? To go back and fight another fight only for the fight, with no desire and hunger to get to the belt again — I’m good, man.”
Glover has stated that he will keep training and mentoring other fighters, such as the current middleweight champion Alex Pereira and revealed his interest in potential boxing bouts down the line:
“I won’t stop training. 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?”
In the same interview, Glover Teixeira revealed that his wife is finally content that he has decided to lace the gloves after a career that has spanned over two decades.
“I think my wife was very happy with my decision because she can’t take it anymore. It’s not just the fights, man. This sport is hard. You give your all in any sport to become a world champion, you leave it all in there and bring your family with you through that pressure on fight week. Mother and father, my wife — I see her tension when I have a fight booked. ‘Who are you fighting? Jamahal?’ And she goes on to watch Jamahal Hill’s fights, Jiri Prochazka’s. She doesn’t say anything, she’s always confident, ‘You’ll beat him,’ but she sees the danger this guy presents.”
Teixeira added:
“And I have battles like this and don’t go down, like my last fight. She said she didn’t watch it, she wanted the referee to stop it. You want the referee to stop it. I don’t want him to stop. I swear to you, there was a moment when Hill was ground and pounding that I had my eyes covered in blood and couldn’t see anything, only the lights and Jamahal’s punches coming down, and I was like, ‘F–k, the referee can’t stop this. I’m not hurt, but I’m not doing much.’ “I was in the fight the whole time, I fought until the end, and I’m proud of the fight.”
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