UFC light heavyweight title challenger Glover Teixeira oozes confidence, and why not?
Teixeira is 22-2 in his professional career, and his last loss came nine years ago in March 2005 against current UFC middleweight Ed “Short Fuse” Herman.
Since that time, Teixeira has unleashed a 20-fight winning streak, including a five-fight run against the sport’s finest inside the UFC Octagon. In those five UFC fights, Teixeira earned four finishes: two via knockout and two via submission.
The man can do it all, and he can do it all with an expert’s touch.
Appearing on AXS TV’s Inside MMA, Teixeira talked about his upcoming showdown with the 205-pound champion Jon “Bones” Jones at UFC 172, and the Brazilian powerhouse minced precisely zero words as he explained how the bout would go down.
He said:
I have the power to beat him, I have these skills… People always tell me, ‘Oh, are you bringing this guy or that guy to simulate Jon Jones?’ But I don’t really worry about him. In my mind, man, he has to worry about what I’m going to do with him.
Nothing Teixeira said is false, exactly.
He boasts 13 knockouts on his resume, and he’s shown tremendous power inside the Octagon in destroying Ryan Bader and Fabio Maldonado.
Jones, on the other hand, works best from the top position on the ground or from a safe range on the feet. The champion is a technical striker who utilizes his reach perfectly inside the cage, but he is not known for his one-shot knockout power like Teixeira.
While Bones has never been seriously rocked by a strike inside the cage, Teixeira’s hands are certainly capable of doing the job. Jones’ chin has never really been tested, and his unparalleled success is a product of smart, effective striking defense, not an impenetrable chin (although he may have that too; we really don’t know yet).
Where this is concerned, Teixeira continued:
“He’s the champion, but I believe in my skills,” he said. “I believe that April 26 I’m going to go over there and knock this guy out.”
It all comes to a head April 26 inside the Baltimore Arena in the UFC 172 main event.
Can Teixeira become the first man to flatten Jones inside the cage and end his lengthy reign atop the light heavyweight throne, or is this just your typical pre-fight buildup?
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