After a valiant — but ultimately unsuccessful — effort in his bid
to regain the light heavyweight crown, Glover
Teixeira is calling it a career.
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The Brazilian veteran announced his retirement in the Octagon
following a unanimous decision loss to Jamahal
Hill in the UFC 283 headliner at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de
Janeiro on Saturday night. Teixeira exits the sport at 43 years old
with a 33-9 career mark.
“In reality though, I think I’m too tough for my own good,”
Teixeira said while leaving his gloves in the middle of the cage.
“I can’t keep up anymore. I’m gonna focus my energy on
[middleweight champ] Alex
Pereira. He’s gonna keep his belt for a while and go up to
light heavyweight. It’s an honor to put the gloves down on the same
night as Shogun.”
Teixeira was one of the feel-good stories of 2021, becoming the
oldest first-time champion in promotion history with a submission
of Jan
Blachowicz at UFC 267. He relinquished the strap in a “Fight of
the Year” bout against Jiri
Prochazka at UFC 275 but got another opportunity when an injury
forced Prochazka to vacate the strap. Teixeira hung tough for five
rounds against Hill, but was largely outgunned throughout the
fight.
Despite that setback, Teixeira is one of the most beloved fighters
in the promotion. The Brazilian veteran compiled a 16-7 mark in UFC
competition that included victories against the likes of
Blachowicz, Thiago
Santos, Anthony
Smith, Jared
Cannonier, Rashad
Evans, Ryan Bader
and Quinton
Jackson.
“I wish we were in the Royce Gracie
(era) where we just go with no rounds and keep going in this s—t,
but we’re not and I’m just not keeping up anymore,” Teixeira
said.