At UFC 160 Glover Teixeira solidified his position as a top light-heavyweight contender by submitting James Te Huna in the first round of their main card bout. The win ran Teixeira’s UFC record to a spotless 4-0, and moved him ever closer to that much sought-after shot at Jon Jones’ title.
While fans would be hard-pressed to remain unconvinced of Teixeira’s talent at this point, Teixeira himself is entirely convinced that he is only really getting started.
“I am very confident,” he said to MMA Junkie. “If my next fight was against Jon Jones, for sure I would go in to win. I give myself [a] 99 percent chance [of winning].”
The Brazilian, however, is less than 99 percent certain that he’ll be given the opportunity to fight Jones this fall. That opportunity seems to be headed the way of Alexander Gustafsson, so it seems likely Teixeira will have to run his promotional mark to 5-0 before he gets a sniff at UFC gold.
“One of the top fighters is Ryan Bader,” Teixeira explained. “I was going to face him, but he got hurt. It could still be my next fight.”
Teixeira isn’t set on facing Bader, though. He’s open to a couple possible alternatives, namely Rashad Evans or Dan Henderson, depending on who wins between them at UFC 161.
Out of the question is Lyoto Machida, a pal of Teixeira. “I wouldn’t even think about it,” Teixeira said.
He also concedes that “Gustafsson is further ahead,” so his next opponent should be Bader, Evans or Henderson.
Ultimately, he isn’t too concerned however the dice land. “Whatever comes our way, we’re feeling confident,” he said.
Evidently. If he gives himself a 99 percent chance of dethroning Jones, he would have to be pretty confident taking on any of his three targets.
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