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This is never quite true when it is said that there is nothing more a fighter can do to earn a title shot, but in the case of Glover Teixeira, there is literally he can’t do anything else to earn a title shot after beating Thiago Santos at UFC Vegas 13 on Saturday.
Certainly, Teixeira has had her chance in the past. He was No.7 challenger for Jon Jones’ light heavyweight title in April 2015 and although he put in a valiant effort in five rounds, he lost a clear decision to the champion. There weren’t a lot of people asking for rematch.
Teixeira was 34 at the time and it took her 20 straight wins in nine years just to get her first shot at a UFC title. Going the distance with Jones was pretty impressive and no one would have faulted him for just clinching a Championship Main Event in his belt.
But Teixeira refused to go into obscurity.
He went 5-4 in his next nine fights after Jones, losing to top 10 talents like Phil Davis, Anthony Johnson, Alexander Gustafsson and Corey Anderson, but dealing with business against those ranked below him to retain his place in the line of contenders. He then continued the five-game winning streak he currently straddles to shed the goalie tag he seemed destined to wear.
Teixeira doesn’t just win. He ends the fighting. More than any light heavyweight in UFC history, he does so because he now holds the record for most finishes (12) and most submissions (6) in the division. He’s exactly what the UFC claims to be looking for in its fighters, even though he (thankfully) doesn’t have the desired skills to talk about trash.
So what’s stopping Teixeira from getting a second chance to become UFC champion? Why is this our old friend, Mr. Superfight.
To Dana White’s credit, he was very complimentary of Teixeira’s performance on Saturday’s post-fight show and admitted that Teixeira had a fair contention for the next title shot at 205 pounds; It’s not to White’s credit, just a week ago he told media that his current plan is to match light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz with middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
As my esteemed colleague Damon Martin so eloquently posed, wouldn’t it have made more sense to wait for the outcome of Saturday’s main event and then determine whether to continue the Blachowicz-Adesanya talks? If only to maintain the intrigue of the main event at UFC Vegas 13? And to properly promote the potential winner? The broadcast team did their best to focus on Teixeira and Santos’ value as suitors, but the cat was already out of the bag.
As Blachowicz vs Adesanya looks cool, there are so many reasons not to want to see this fight right now. Adesanya is expected to stick with his initial plan of stringing together a few extra middleweight title defenses, especially with his division well placed at the moment. Plus, the only reason he originally wanted to progress was to fight Jon Jones, the mercurial light heavyweight king who should finally make his way to heavyweights.
If you think Blachowicz’s belt is being used as a prop to stage an Adesanya-Jones fight, you’re right, and it’s an improper way to treat Blachowicz and the light heavyweight title. Not to mention the fact that you’re having fun with a lot of moving parts there when you have the option to keep it simple and give fans a high-level main event now rather than chasing a grudge match that might not. never happen.
Perhaps most important of all, the Adesanya-Jones fight has no deadline and doesn’t need to be for a title. A nice incentive, sure, but this feud already has its own appeal for a variety of reasons, ranging from the legitimate animosity that exists between the two to the fact that Adesanya has the skills to potentially put a stop to Jones’ self-proclamation. GOAT status.
And that’s the right thing for Teixeira to do, damn it! No, Blachowicz vs. Teixeira doesn’t have the cachet of a champion versus champion fight, nor can he come close to the traditional pulling power of an Adesanya-Jones match. But if the ranking ever means anything (stop laughing, please), then Teixeira emphatically claims her claim Saturday must be rewarded.
If this Blachowicz-Adesanya fight isn’t close to being finalized, then why not bring Teixeira in for January or February. Then Adesanya can wait a little longer for Whittaker, who has said he should be ready by March. Granted, Adesanya has to wait six months between fights when he seems ready to switch as soon as possible is the worst part of this particular proposition, but you can’t make everyone happy.
A person who should be happy – or more accurately, happy1st given his perpetually joyful disposition – is Teixeira. He won’t push for it, he won’t campaign and he certainly won’t start throwing mud in Blachowicz’s direction to get his attention. Not that he needs it because Blachowicz already has said he’s up for it. It just makes too much sense that this fight doesn’t happen.
Given the background of the UFC, that last sentence will likely be even more hilarious on the road when Adesanya takes on Blachowicz, the winner of this fight tries to stop Jon Jones from winning a fourth UFC title after he again cancels his plans to switch to heavyweight, and Teixeira ends up having to fight in six months anyway against a stud like Dominick Reyes, Jiri Prochazka or Aleksandar Rakic. Does this sound like fun to you?
The UFC can prevent that bleak future, while also sprinkling some sunshine on one of its most persistent, toughest, and healthiest contenders. So do the right thing, guys, and give Teixeira her title shot. Because frankly, there’s not much else you can do with it.
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