Glover Teixeira admits to making ‘big mistake’ against Jon Jones at UFC 172

Glover Teixeira wants another shot at Jon Jones after he gets a few more wins, but first he needs to undergo surgery to fix a torn labrum in his right shoulder that he sustained in the first round of the fight.

“I only feel the injury if I move my arm,” Teixeira told MMAFighting.com. “I can’t move it for now. I did the MRI and I will hopefully do the surgery next week to start my recovery.”

The 34-year-old Brazilian doesn’t have a timetable for his return yet, but expects to be back in the gym soon.

“The doctor said the recovery is quick, but I don’t know when I will be able to train again,” he said. “The UFC doctor will probably do the surgery, so I will know when I will return to training after I talk to him.”

Teixeira earned a shot at light heavyweight gold after scoring five straight wins inside the Octagon, including four finishes. But he couldn’t do what he planned to against Jones, and he blames the shoulder crank.

“I’m disappointed with the fight and the things I let him do,” he said. “Some things I thought would be harder to do, like blocking his kicks and closing the distance, but it was easier than I thought. I can’t say ‘oh, if I had the chance to close the distance and hit him.’ I had that chance.”

“That shoulder crank in the first round really hurt me,” he continued. “I regret letting him do that, it was a big mistake. But there’s nothing I can do about it now. After the first round, I had no punching power, and I had to push him with my left arm in the clinch, so I pretty much tired my both shoulders. I have to evolve in a lot of aspects of the fight, there’s not much to say.”

Some fans called Jones a “dirty fighter” for putting his hand on Teixeira’s face during the fight, which led to a couple eye pokes. Teixeira won’t go that far, but thinks it has to stop.

“I don’t think it was intentional, but the referee needs to start putting some pressure on who does that,” he said. “I was a little afraid to close the distance and get poked in the eye again and maybe stop the fight. The second eye poke really scared me because I thought it could hurt my eye.

“I knew I was losing the rounds but we always believe that one punch can change it, but it’s hard to do it when you have to worry about getting poked in the eye. I don’t think it was intentional, but you have to be careful with that.”

The loss snapped Teixeira’s 20-fight win streak, and he plans to face whoever the UFC puts in front of him to get another shot at the title.

“I don’t think about next opponents because I never called anyone out,” he said. “The only guy that I called out was Jon Jones because he was the champion, and I will always focus on the champion. I want this rematch. I will train hard to get this opportunity one day, and I will believe in me and fix my mistakes. I want two or three more fights to get to the title again.”

Glover Teixeira wants another shot at Jon Jones after he gets a few more wins, but first he needs to undergo surgery to fix a torn labrum in his right shoulder that he sustained in the first round of the fight.

“I only feel the injury if I move my arm,” Teixeira told MMAFighting.com. “I can’t move it for now. I did the MRI and I will hopefully do the surgery next week to start my recovery.”

The 34-year-old Brazilian doesn’t have a timetable for his return yet, but expects to be back in the gym soon.

“The doctor said the recovery is quick, but I don’t know when I will be able to train again,” he said. “The UFC doctor will probably do the surgery, so I will know when I will return to training after I talk to him.”

Teixeira earned a shot at light heavyweight gold after scoring five straight wins inside the Octagon, including four finishes. But he couldn’t do what he planned to against Jones, and he blames the shoulder crank.

“I’m disappointed with the fight and the things I let him do,” he said. “Some things I thought would be harder to do, like blocking his kicks and closing the distance, but it was easier than I thought. I can’t say ‘oh, if I had the chance to close the distance and hit him.’ I had that chance.”

“That shoulder crank in the first round really hurt me,” he continued. “I regret letting him do that, it was a big mistake. But there’s nothing I can do about it now. After the first round, I had no punching power, and I had to push him with my left arm in the clinch, so I pretty much tired my both shoulders. I have to evolve in a lot of aspects of the fight, there’s not much to say.”

Some fans called Jones a “dirty fighter” for putting his hand on Teixeira’s face during the fight, which led to a couple eye pokes. Teixeira won’t go that far, but thinks it has to stop.

“I don’t think it was intentional, but the referee needs to start putting some pressure on who does that,” he said. “I was a little afraid to close the distance and get poked in the eye again and maybe stop the fight. The second eye poke really scared me because I thought it could hurt my eye.

“I knew I was losing the rounds but we always believe that one punch can change it, but it’s hard to do it when you have to worry about getting poked in the eye. I don’t think it was intentional, but you have to be careful with that.”

The loss snapped Teixeira’s 20-fight win streak, and he plans to face whoever the UFC puts in front of him to get another shot at the title.

“I don’t think about next opponents because I never called anyone out,” he said. “The only guy that I called out was Jon Jones because he was the champion, and I will always focus on the champion. I want this rematch. I will train hard to get this opportunity one day, and I will believe in me and fix my mistakes. I want two or three more fights to get to the title again.”