Glover Teixeira, vowing to 'never give up on your dreams,' defeats Jan Blachowicz via submission
Glover Teixeira got a UFC light heavyweight title shot seven years ago and lost, like most everyone else does, to Jon Jones. At that point, Teixeira was already 34 years old and most wrote him off. He had his nice UFC run, many thought, and that would be it.
Instead, Teixeira got back to work and somehow made his way all the way back. On Saturday, he did what most thought impossible. Teixeira defeated Jan Blachowicz via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:02 of the second round to win the UFC light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi. Teixeira was a +210 underdog, per Caesars William Hill.
At 42 years old, Teixeira is the oldest first-time champion in UFC history and the second oldest fighter to ever win a UFC title, just behind Randy Couture. Teixeira joins Couture and Daniel Cormier as only the third UFC fighter ever to win a title at age 40 or above. The 14 UFC fights in between Teixeira's title loss to Jon Jones at UFC 172 on April 26, 2014 and Saturday were the most in between title shots in the same division in UFC history.
"Never give up on your dreams," Teixeira said in his postfight interview. "No matter what people say don't listen to them. They're gonna put you down. Don't listen to those negative people. Believe in yourself."
Teixeira took Blachowicz down in the first round and basically kept him there for the duration. In the second round, Blachowicz had some success with his boxing. But Teixeira wobbled him with a left hook and then took him down again. This time, Teixeira was able to get mount, then take Blachowicz's back and lock in the choke. "I'm breaking the rules -- 42 years old," Teixeira said. "I'm gonna keep breaking those rules."
ESPN has Blachowicz ranked No. 5 in the world on its pound-for-pound MMA list. At light heavyweight, ESPN has Blachowicz ranked No. 1 and Teixeira at No. 2.
Teixeira (33-7) has won six straight and seven of his last eight, most recently before this weekend a third-round submission win over Thiago Santos in November 2020. The Brazil native has 28 finishes in 33 career victories. Teixeira, a Connecticut resident, has been considered one of the top light heavyweights in the world for more than a decade, an incredible stretch of consistency and quality. He has the most finishes (13) and submission victories (7) in UFC light heavyweight history. Teixeira's 16 UFC light heavyweight wins are second most next to Jones (20).
Blachowicz (28-9) was coming off his first title defense, a unanimous decision win over previously undefeated middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 on March 6. The Poland native won the title vacated by Jones at UFC 253 in September 2020, a second-round TKO over Dominick Reyes. Blachowicz, 38, had won five straight and nine of his last 10 fights coming in. He is a former KSW light heavyweight champion.
"I think I left legendary 'Polish Power' in the room," Blachowicz said.
Teixeira has been a pro MMA fighter since 2002. In 2008, on the cusp of getting a call from the UFC, Teixeira had to leave the United States and go back to his home country of Brazil because he was living in the U.S. illegally. Due to visa issues, Teixeira was unable to come back to the states for nearly four years and sign with the UFC - during his prime years athletically. He was already considered then one of the best 205-pound fighters in the world - he was a main sparring partner of legends Chuck Liddell and Lyoto Machida - but was unable to prove it. On Saturday, Teixeira said he would be returning to his childhood town of Sobralia, Minas Gerais, Brazil with the UFC gold. "I told you guys I'm coming home with the belt," Teixeira said. "And I am. The promise is done."
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