Glover Teixeira speaks about his decision to retire from MMA while also baring plans to compete in boxing in the future.
UFC 283 marked the final Octagon appearance of Glover Teixeira. The 43-year-old former light heavyweight champion failed in his bid to reclaim the title against Jamahal Hill, urging him to retire right after the five-round war.
Teixeira recently spoke to MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast and discussed the exact moment he came to terms with his career decision.
“I started my career in the United States and had the opportunity to fight on the Brazilian scene, to know everything about my culture, and then to come back and end my career in Brazil. I’m so happy about everything.
“I said, ‘This is the moment to move on to another stage.’ If I’m not fighting for the UFC belt, if I don’t have that goal — I’ve never fought only for the belt, but I had that thing of, ‘I’m going after it, I’ll win it again,’ you know? To go back and fight another fight only for the fight, with no desire and hunger to get to the belt again — I’m good, man.”
Teixeira’s decision was a delight for his wife, whom he says has been supportive of his chosen career.
“I think my wife was very happy with my decision because she can’t take it anymore. It’s not just the fights, man. This sport is hard. You give your all in any sport to become a world champion, you leave it all in there and bring your family with you through that pressure on fight week.
“Mother and father, my wife — I see her tension when I have a fight booked. ‘Who are you fighting? Jamahal?’ And she goes on to watch Jamahal Hill’s fights, Jiri Prochazka’s. She doesn’t say anything, she’s always confident, ‘You’ll beat him,’ but she sees the danger this guy presents.
“And I have battles like this and don’t go down, like my last fight. She said she didn’t watch it, she wanted the referee to stop it. You want the referee to stop it. I don’t want him to stop.
I swear to you, there was a moment when Hill was ground and pounding that I had my eyes covered in blood and couldn’t see anything, only the lights and Jamahal’s punches coming down, and I was like, ‘F–k, the referee can’t stop this. I’m not hurt, but I’m not doing much.’
“I was in the fight the whole time, I fought until the end, and I’m proud of the fight.”
Glover says he will continue to train and be a mentor for others like current middleweight champion Alex Pereira. But he’s not completely closing his doors on competition.
“I won’t stop training. If there’s an opportunity in the future for a match, do some boxing — [Acelino Freitas] ‘Popo’ boxed [Brazilian YouTuber] Whindersson [Nunes], right?
“Maybe I’ll fight some heavy guy, a celebrity, and move my body a little bit. Why not, man?”
Teixeira left the sport with a record of 33-9.