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Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira revealed his “perfect plan” that leads to him retiring inside the Octagon later this year.
The 42-year-old combatant is scheduled for his first 205-pound title defense next month. He’ll battle No. 2-ranked Jiri Prochazka in the headlining act for UFC 275 on June 11. The event is set to take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
During a recent interview with Globo.com, laid out his ideal scenario for 2022 which will involve him fighting twice.
“The perfect plan would be winning this fight, which I have full focus on,” Teixeira said, as translated by MMA Fighting. “And fighting one last time in November, in New York, which is close to the city I live for 20 years, and close to my gym. It would be my farewell from fighting. That’s what I’m thinking right now.”
The 33-7 professional mixed martial artist won the belt in October 2021 when he dethroned then-champ Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267. Teixeira is the second-oldest reigning champion in UFC history.
When Teixeira Retires, He Doesn’t Want to Return
When Teixeira says he’s retired, he’ll mean it. He told the outlet that once he hangs up his gloves, it’ll be for good. He pointed to former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo as an example of a fighter who retired but continued to continuously campaign for fights.
“I’ll be 43 in November,” he said. “Regardless of being at the top, being the best of the world or not, I wanna stop this year. It will probably be my last year. I don’t wanna make this decision after a fight, but it’s what I’ve been thinking for a while. I don’t wanna retire like [Henry] Cejudo, who keeps asking for a fight all the time. I want to retire and stay cool.
“I think that’s the perfect plan. The perfect plan is to retire with the belt this year, but we have a lot to do. We have to see if it could be in New York, and I still have to beat a guy that is tough as hell. That’s my idea.”
Cejudo retired at UFC 249 in May 2020 and last month he announced his mixed martial arts comeback.
If Teixeira Beats Prochazka, Fight Fans Could See Him Rematch Blachowicz
In Teixeira’s mind, he may be picturing Blachowicz as his final opponent. The former light heavyweight champion got back into the win column last weekend when he beat Aleksandar Rakic via third-round TKO.
Rakic hurt his knee during the contest and the referee stepped in to wave off the fight.
It was the Polish fighter’s first contest since Teixeira took his belt, and since he won, Teixeira is open to fighting Blachowicz again. “Let’s go @JanBlachowicz Win tonight…and I’ll win Jun 11…then we run it back,” Teixeira tweeted ahead of Blachowicz’s bout.
However, as Teixeira mentioned in his tweet, he’ll need to win at UFC 275. Prochazka is riding the momentum of a 12-fight win streak, which includes back-to-back KO victories over former UFC title challengers Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir.
Prochazka (28-3-1) hasn’t lost since 2015 and boasts 27 wins by stoppage.
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