After a strongly decisive third-round submission victory over Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night on Saturday, UFC President Dana White took notice of the great showmanship of Glover Teixeira. Following the win, White gave praise to the aging fight veteran, giving credit where it’s always due.
Dana White, Jan Blachowicz open door for Glover Teixeira title shot after UFC on ESPN+ 40 https://t.co/VGgex3JA7B
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) November 9, 2020
Especially when Teixeira recorded 82 percent of his strikes, 73 percent worth of significant strikes with two submission attempts before putting away Santos. Being the versatile fighter that he is, that’s helped him during his five-fight win streak. Four of those fights were finished. Three by submission, one by knockout.
What will you be doing when you're over forty!? @GloverTeixeira is still aiming for 🏆! #UFCVegas13 pic.twitter.com/qTd5kB492Y
— UFC (@ufc) November 8, 2020
He has averaged between two to three fights per year since fighting with the company in 2012. Teixeira remains active and consistent in his performances where he has a lengthy 20 bout career in the UFC with 16 in his career. That’s more to say than UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has to boast in his own division since winning the title. Adesanya will face Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title later in 2021 after a rematch against Robert Whittaker fell through when he refused to take the fight. Whittaker decided to focus more on his family as he and his wife are expecting a child within the next few months.
Adesanya is 8-0 in the UFC with half of those wins in title fights. Adesanya, while a completely packaged commodity for the UFC to make further financial headway, has a long way to go. At 31, he holds a 20-0 record with a lengthy Muay Thai and boxing background. He needs to continue to dominate the middleweight division the same way as the man he once faced to keep his flawless record intact, being Anderson Silva. The other key factor besides gunning for a second strap is to make more money and further cement himself in Octagon history.
For Teixeira, justice would be served if he is awarded the winner of the Adesanya-Blachowicz super fight. He has pushed past Father Time and extended his tenure by winning the way he used to when he first started his UFC career. The 41-year old should have everyone in the front office investing time to make for him. But the real fight won’t be between Teixeira and the champion. It’ll be between Teixeira and time. As this could be his last chance at a winner, it’s the powers that be who must serve the greater good for a master craftsman to make the announcement sooner than later.
