It took Glover Teixeira 41 professional fights and 21 fights in the UFC, but he finally became a champion Saturday.
“Never give up on your dreams,” Teixeira said after the fight. “No matter what people say, don’t listen to them. They’re going to put you down. Don’t listen to those negative people. Believe in yourself; keep going forward.”
Teixeira, 42, became the oldest first-time champion by submitting Jan Blachowicz with a rear naked choke in the second round of a light heavyweight championship bout at UFC 267. He’s also the second-oldest champion in UFC history, behind only Randy Couture, who won the heavyweight belt for the second time in his career at age 43 and lost it at age 45.
It was the second title fight for Teixeira, who first fought for the light heavyweight belt against Jon Jones at UFC 172 in April 2014. Jones won that fight by unanimous decision, and Teixeira went 5-4 over his next nine fights. He earned another shot at the title by winning five consecutive fights and extended his streak to six victories by defeating Blachowicz.
Blachowicz became the light heavyweight champion in September 2020 with a victory over Dominick Reyes after the belt was vacated by Jones.
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