Light heavyweight title challenger Glover Teixeira feels rather confident ahead of UFC 267.
The next UFC light heavyweight title challenger feels confident ahead of his encounter with Jan Blachowicz. Expected to take on the Polish at UFC 267, Glover Teixeira seems rather satisfied with his current training camp and unbothered by his ripe age of 41 to be competing for a belt.
In an interview with Combate, Teixeira pointed out all the athletes who have been helping him , which is one of the main reason why he feels so confident ahead of the match. Even though Glover will be away from the Octagon for almost a year when he finally meets Blachowicz, the Braziian is optimistic about the camp he will put together for the fight.
“Training has been great. I’ve been training regularly. I’ve been helping guys like Alex Pereira and Wellington Turman. I had a camp for when I was the replacement (for the Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya bout). I’ve been training hard. Although I’ve been out for almost a year, I’ve been training hard. I’ve spent most of the time here at the gym, but I spent some time at American Top Team, Black House, The Pit. I’ve been around. I’ve trained with Lyoto Machida, too. So I’ve been around and learning, but most of my camps are here at the gym. We’re going to do a perfect camp. We still have eight weeks to go and when it’s six, we’ll begin sparring hard.”
Despite being 41 and having fought for the title back in 2013, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Jon Jones, Glover feels readier for the challenge now. In his opinion, all the experience he gathered in the last years were crucial for him to learn more about himself as a fighter.
“We have seven more years of experience. I’m more at ease. I know my body better. I know when to train, when to take a break. Because I used to train too much and get injured. I still do it, but when I notice my performance is going down at the gym, I take a break. That’s how I do it now and it’s been working.”
Currently on a five-fight winning streak, Teixeira (32-7) has scored four finishes during this time, including ones over notable names such as Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith. The 41-year-old’s last loss happened in July 2018, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Corey Anderson.
Now, Teixeira is expected to take on Blachowicz at UFC 267, on October 30. The card is scheduled to take place at Yas Island, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.