At the age of 42, Glover Teixeira is about to defend his Light Heavyweight Crown for the first time, headlining UFC 275. Although he has fought for the belt twice before- losing the first shot to Jon Jones, but winning the title from Jan Blachowicz- this will be the first time the Brazilian will be donning the black and gold befitting a champion.
Even though the roles have been reversed, there is still quite a bit of pressure in defending the belt. As an old saying goes, it hard to get to the top, but even more difficult to stay there. The Brazilian seems to be well aware of the change in roles, however, as he prepares to protect his throne.
Speaking to former UFC two division Champion Daniel Cormier, Teixeira was asked about how he is dealing with being a champion, instead of a challenger for the very fist time.
“I’m still the hunter, you know. I forget that I’m defending the belt, and I’m still the hungry after that goes after(his opponents). That’s how I train. My other opponents started well, but I hit hard and I break them. The takedowns are there, and if I can’t take them down, I come back with punches.”
In Jiri Prochazka, Teixeira is going up against a formidable opponent. The Czech Republican has taken the UFC by storm, has two finishes in both his fights against former title challengers. Even though there have been doubts as to whether he deserves to be fast tracked so much to a title shot, there is no doubt about how dangerous of a striker Prochazka is.
Teixeira acknowledges the task at hand, but is confident that he can weather the storm to get a victory.
“He has chances to put me out, you know, but it’s not easy. It can happen, but we’ll see how prepared he is.”
A win for Prochazka would make him the first champion of his nation, but Glover Teixeira will be out to squash the hype surrounding his very philosophical counterpart.
