Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira teased retirement a few weeks back, but insists he has no definitive timeline for hanging up the gloves. That said, the Brazilian turns 43 in October and will eventually have to call it a career.
When he does, Teixeira wants it to be permanent.
“Eventually, I do want to retire,” Blachowicz told The MMA Hour. “I said the perfect scenario is me beating this guy in Singapore and hopefully fight Jan [Blachowicz] at Madison Square Garden in November and then call it a day. But I don’t want to make a decision like that. I think that’s a possibility, but I don’t want to [say], ‘Oh I’m going to retire this year, or a couple more fights,’ or this and that. I don’t want to make a call and be desperate later. I even mentioned Henry Cejudo. Nothing against the guy, I love the kid, but you see him retired [and] he knows he wants to come back. He knows he has more. I don’t want to make this decision like that, but it would be a possibility, yeah.”
That decision could be largely influenced by what happens in the UFC 275 pay-per-view main event. That’s where Teixeira (33-7) faces top contender Jiri Prochazka (28-3-1). The Brazilian is currently the winner of six straight with five finishes, the second longest win streak of his 20-year career.
The first led to a light heavyweight title shot opposite Jon Jones back in early 2014.
“I love the fight, I love the game,” Teixeira continued. “I love the camp life to be preparing for a fight, but I’m also 42 going on 43. It’s time to start thinking about it. I want to retire from the sport, I don’t want the sport to retire me. You see Khabib [Nurmagomedov], I take my hat off to Khabib when he retired on top. There’s no motivation by money. He’s making $10, $20 million, they offer him so much money, but he’s not going back. He’s done. He doesn’t want to do it anymore. That’s going to be me. The day that I don’t want to do it anymore [I will retire]. The day that I don’t want to get myself going is the time that I’m going to be done.”
Nurmagomedov walked away from cage fighting at the tender age of 31 and appears to be content with his decision. As for Cejudo, who hastily retired at age 33, he recently reentered the USADA testing pool and could make his Octagon return later this year. Hopefully Teixeira can avoid the premature retirement trap — win or lose — in the wake of UFC 275 in June.