Glover Teixeira shouldn’t need to be the No. 1 contender to merit a matchup with Jon Jones for the Light Heavyweight Championship.
In UFC 160, the Brazilian Wrecking Machine forced James Te-Huna of New Zealand to submit two minutes, 38 seconds into the first round. He earned the Submission of the Night, his 19th straight professional mixed martial arts win and fourth straight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
His four UFC triumphs have come at an astonishing rate, all occurring since May 26, 2012. Despite the fact that he’s ranked behind Lyoto Machida, Alexander Gustafsson and Dan Henderson in the UFC Fighter Rankings, Teixeira is the competitor who deserves a shot at Jones.
Machida is only 3-3 in his last six fights, and he already fought Jones. The 34-year-old Brazilian couldn’t make it out of the second round alive in 2011. Two years older and slower, there’s no reason to believe a rematch would be anything but an instant replay.
Unlike Machida, Gustafsson is worthy of a title bid, but Teixeira is the hotter fighter. Since Teixeira’s UFC streak began, Gustafsson has only competed once. The same goes for Dan Henderson, and the 42-year-old’s one fight was a loss to Machida.
Momentum should mean something, and Teixeira is riding a ton of it. Pair that with the fact that Jones is recovering from a major toe injury, and the Brazilian could do more than give the world No. 2 a run for his money.
“Hey, if they [UFC] have any problem, I’m here,” Teixeira told Fox Sports after his fight on Saturday night. “Whatever they do, I’ll be happy to get in the Octagon again as soon as possible if they need someone. If they have trouble finding an opponent for Jon Jones, I’m here.”
Teixeira is here, and UFC President Dana White should give him a call as soon as Jones can compete.
David Daniels is a breaking news writer at Bleacher Report and a news editor at Wade-O Radio.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com