Glover Teixeira’s rise to the top has not been the easiest path. After fighting in the UFC for 20 years, he was finally able to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion by beating Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267. At the age of 42, he became the second oldest person in the UFC to hold a title.
Now that he has become champion, the next ordeal ahead of Glover Teixeira is his defending his title. While getting to the throne itself is very difficult, retaining your throne is even harder. The person coming to dethrone the 42-year old Brazilian at UFC 275 is Jiri Prochazka.
A relative newbie in the UFC, the the Czech warrior has knockout wins over two former title contenders in his two fights in the octagon. This has propelled him to a title shot, and many people are considering him to be next headliner in the division.
Speaking to the Mac Life, former two-division champion Daniel Cormier touched on matters related to the card, and in particular the main event. While DC acknowledged that Jiri has knocked out two very good fighters, he still hasn’t felt the pressure of someone like Teixeira.
“Glover’s like a dog. He’s gonna get hurt but he won’t stop fighting you. If he gets you down, it’s hard to get him off of you. You can’t get away from the guy. It’s one of those situations where he breaks those guys who start so fast. It’s up to Jiri to preserve his energy so that he can go 25 minutes if needed be.”
The story is at a crossroads. Will we see a new champion, the first one from the Czech Republic? Or will the Glover Teixeira fairytale continue? Find out in 2 days time.
