Unless you are a hardcore MMA fan, you probably haven’t heard of Glover Teixeira. And, honestly, there’s no reason you should have.
The 32-year-old Brazilian, best know as a training partner of the legendary Chuck Liddell, seemingly has a ton of potential. His 19-2 professional record shows a fighter ready to test himself against the sport’s best in the UFC. But it doesn’t show a fearsome world-beater and it certainly doesn’t show a top 10 fighter—at least not yet.
Don’t try telling some fans that Glover hasn’t earned his place among the sport’s elite though. Fueled by UFC announcer Joe Rogan’s effusive praise during Teixeira’s single UFC bout, and by UFC President Dana White‘s subsequent attempts to match the prospect up with a handful of the UFC’s best at 205 pounds, even prestige outlets like ESPN have bought into the Glover hype.
The world wide leader has Teixeira ranked eighth in the world at light heavyweight, despite the fact that he has never competed with a top 10 opponent, let alone beaten one. Despite the fact that his record is padded with opponents who don’t even have Wikipedia entries (more than half of his fights are against relative unknowns).
Seriously, ESPN?
I don’t deny that Teixeira looks like the real deal. But rankings are a measure of what a man has accomplished, not what he might accomplish with the right roll of the dice. You have to walk that aisle and make your case for a top 10 ranking in the cage, not on the internet or in forums. And, right now, Teixeira hasn’t done that.
Glover, as it stands, has beaten Kyle Kingsbury, an opponent with a .500 record against middling UFC competition. He’s beaten former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez, one of seven fighters to beat the struggling veteran in the last year alone.
And that’s it. A pretty flimsy resume with which to make a case for the top 10? I think so.
The inconvenient fact that Teixeira hasn’t earned a place in the top 10 hasn’t stopped the UFC from attempting to match him like he has.
First, the promotion tried to book him against former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in a bout the Brazilian legend declined, causing White to flip out and throw “Shogun,” who had just fought the bout of the century against Dan Henderson, completely under the bus:
…me and (UFC CEO) Lorenzo (Fertitta) said, ‘Look, you can’t turn down fights at this level. The money you’re making and where you are ranked in the world, you don’t turn down fights at this level. We might have to cut you.’ He said, ‘I’d rather be cut than fight him.'”
After airing Rua‘s dirty laundry in the press, White and company looked to match Teixeira with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, trying to make a star of the Brazilian in a single night against and aging and disinterested former legend. When that fight fell through due to a Jackson injury, former champion Rashad Evans got the call to replace Jackson on just three weeks notice.
Wisely, it was an offer Evans had the gumption to refuse, telling Fuel TV he wasn’t going to take a bad fight at this stage of his career:
I talked to Dana [White] early this week and we talked about maybe December. But I’m thinking maybe January or February. I will fight anybody. I want to get a fight at light heavyweight. They offered me a fight, but it was against Glover Teixeira and I only had three weeks to fight and I haven’t been training. I was like, ‘no way, not with that notice in Brazil.’”
Public discussion of this back-room wheeling and dealing has led to many fans calling Rua and Evans cowards, accusing them of ducking a fight with Teixeira. That kind of criticism is misguided, and misses the mark completely.
The question isn’t why Evans or Rua “ducked” a fight with Teixeira. The real question should be why those fights were offered at all. The promotion has treated Glover like an established star, much like they did legitimate legends the UFC imported from the Japanese promotion Pride several years ago.
The problem?
Teixeira doesn’t have the laundry list of accomplishments that demand that special treatment. It would be ludicrous to even consider matching a fighter fresh off his first UFC fight with a top 10 opponent. That’s not the typical path to the top. It’s just not how business is done. So, why is the UFC making an exception for Teixeira?
Evans is a legitimate star. In the right circumstances he’s one of the promotion’s leading drawing cards, capable of main-eventing not just pay per views, but big-dollar pay per views. While “Shogun” isn’t a box office star of that magnitude, he is a legitimate name and at the stage of his career where he should only be offered top fighters and big bouts.
These are not appropriate fights for Glover Teixeira. Evans and Rua should be fighting the biggest names and the best fighters in the world. Until Glover proves he belongs in that class of fighter, it makes no sense at all to waste an Evans or Rua fight on an untested prospect.
In mixed martial arts, a fighter has a finite number of bouts. His body can only handle so much abuse. Both Evans and Rua have been through the wringer a number of times. The clock is ticking on their careers as top-level competitors. There’s no time to waste on the Glover Teixeira’s of the world.
The injury-driven game of musical chairs, now a part of every UFC event, has led to Teixeira facing Fabio Maldonado at UFC 153. While it isn’t the big game the UFC was hoping for, it’s a matchup that makes more sense in the long run, and one that is more typical of the normal career progression of a UFC fighter.
If Teixeira gets past Maldonado, a fight with a fringe contender like Ryan Bader might be in order. If he passes that test, and only then, would it make sense to even mention Teixeira’s name in the same sentence with former champions still at the top of their games.
In MMA, you have to earn your place at the top. No handouts are given—nor should they be. If the UFC wants Glover Teixeira to play with the big boys at light heavyweight, they need to prove to fans he belongs with the elite. I look forward to seeing if he has what it takes.
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