Teixeira Believes Win Over Smith Will Have Him ‘Knocking on the Door’ for a Title Shot

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Through a career that’s spanned 37 professional fights dating back to 2002, Glover Teixeira has accumulated a wealth of experience.

That proved useful when the 40-year-old Brazilian was forced to prepare for a headlining bout under the most uncertain circumstances of all: a global pandemic. Originally scheduled to face Anthony Smith on April 25 in Omaha, Nebraska, Teixeira’s fight has remained intact despite moving a few weeks and more than 1,000 miles from its original destination. Now, Teixeira will square off against Smith in the UFC Fight Night 171 headliner at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday night.

“I’ve been doing this for so long, it’s not the first time a fight got postponed,” Teixeira said at the UFC’s virtual media day on Monday. “We just readjusted a little bit. We call off the sparring. We just keep ourself in shape. We just stayed in shape. As soon as they said the fight would be May 13, we went right back into sparring. 

Of course, more adjustments had to be made to accommodate social distancing restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We closed the camp with four or five guys at most. Two jiu-jitsu guys. It’s a challenge where I think my experience takes over,” Teixiera added. “I know how to train and put myself in situations to make the camp better. I think it’s a challenge for everyone.”

After going 3-3 from 2016 to 2018, a stretch that included lopsided losses to Anthony Johnson, Alexander Gustafsson and Corey Anderson, Teixeira enjoyed a resurgence last year. The former light heavyweight title challenger went 3-0, posting submission victories over Karl Roberson and Ion Cutelaba before taking a split verdict over Ion Cutelaba to close out his 2019 campaign.

Teixeira, who came up short in a championship matchup with Jon Jones at UFC 172 in 2014, entered the bout with Johnson on a three-fight winning streak. That began a frustrating stretch in which the veteran felt he would falter just when he was on the brink of contender status again. Over time, Teixeira changed his approach and acknowledged that he’d have to do some things differently as a fighter in the twilight of his career.

“I was right there close to the title,” he said. “I fought Anthony Johnson, Gustafsson. Both guys beat me and they got a title fight. I’ve got to sit back and see what I was doing wrong. I went to UFC [Performance Institute] and basically asked for help, see what’s going on [and] how to train at this age. Basically they said I was overtraining.

“They program, the diet, the discipline — it helped me so much. I’ve been happier in camp, sleeping better. 2018 I was in such a crazy camp because of my age. I couldn’t do the things I was doing at 25, 28. I was overtraining and I was miserable in camp. I was thinking, ‘I can’t wait until this is over.’”

Now Teixeira has another opportunity like he did against Johnson in 2016, facing a fellow former title challenger with fairly high stakes.

“Anthony Smith is there with top tier guys like Thiago ‘Marreta’ and Dominick Reyes. If I beat him I’ll definitely be right there, knocking on the door again,” Teixeira said.

“This is gonna be a great fight. Anthony Smith is gonna come forward, I’ll come forward. I’m looking forward to get that title. This is the only thing I’m missing in this sport. I think I deserve it.”