Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira is too mellow these days to return to fighting.
The Brazilian has been out of the cage since a bout for vacant light-heavyweight gold in January. There, Glover Teixeira faced Jamahal Hill, in his home country of Brazil. Pre-fight, the 44-year-old admitted that he was on the verge of retirement, and a loss to ‘Sweet Dreams’ might do him in.
Ultimately, Glover Teixeira suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss at UFC 283. Keeping true to his word, the former champion retired in front of his home fans. While a devastating loss, he had done just about everything that he possibly could’ve, including winning light-heavyweight gold in 2021.
Nearly a year on from that decision, Glover Teixeira discussed retirement in an interview with MMA Fighting. There, he stated that obviously, he gets the itch to compete, and got that watching Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295. However, the Brazilian enjoys his time at his new adopted home of Danbury, Connecticut to let it go.
RELATED: JAN BLACHOWICZ EXPLAINS WHY HE CALLED ALEX PEREIRA A “SLIMY ONE” FOLLOWING UFC 295 TITLE WIN
“I told ‘Poatan’ [Pereira] when we were waiting to walk out [at UFC 295] that I missed that a little bit,” Glover Teixeira stated in the interview. “But that’s not something I did for money, I did it because I really loved it. I miss the old times, but I it’s not like I think about coming back. I’m enjoying the moment. I don’t know what it is, but I’m in a state in my life, even before I won the belt, that I’m in a state of appreciation, of gratitude for having everything I have and accomplishing everything I’ve accomplished.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
He continued, “It’s an immense joy of simply being alive. We don’t know when we’re leaving. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, you get confused sometimes, so I call Lyoto [Machida] to talk, because he’s been through that, as well. But I’m in a comfort zone, you know? I’m very comfortable where I’m at right now, and sometimes we think like, ‘You have to get out of your comfort zone.’ But where to?”
“Fighting, maybe that would get me out of a comfort zone. I was fighting and enjoying the hell out of it. I simply stopped fighting because I thought I lost to some guys — even Jiri [Prochazka], and that last fight with Jamahal. Not taking anything away from those guys, but I felt it was the age factor, really. I was getting slower, weaker. F***, 35-year-old me would trash those guys. But it’s time, right?”
What do you make of these comments from Glover Teixeira? Do you think he should fight again?
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : BJPenn – https://www.bjpenn.com/mma-news/glover-teixeira/glover-teixeira-admits-that-hes-itching-to-fight-again-but-will-stay-retired-its-time-right/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=glover-teixeira-admits-that-hes-itching-to-fight-again-but-will-stay-retired-its-time-right
