In the main event of UFC Vegas 13 on November 7, longtime light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira established himself as the No. 1 contender in the division when he defeated Thiago Santos by third-round submission.
Teixeira, 41, was rocked very early in the first round by “The Sledgehammer’s” fearsome power but was able to take his fellow Brazilian to the ground and dominate to the buzzer. The second round saw Teixeira on top again and finishing the round choking Santos.
Santos came out in the third and seemingly hurt Teixeira again on the feet and wound up on top of him on the ground. Teixeira was able to reverse the position and work his way to a rear-naked choke finish.
Teixeira (32-7) has turned back the clock, winning five fights in a row and defeating two former light heavyweight title challengers in his last two outings, Anthony Smith and Santos. One person who is impressed with Teixeira’s run is former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Teixeira challenged “Bones” for the title back in 2014 and was defeated by unanimous decision.
Interestingly, in his last two victories, Teixeira has defeated two of Jones’ former title challengers more decisively than Bones himself.
Jones celebrated Teixeira’s win on Saturday night via Twitter. Keep reading to see his thoughts.
GettyGlover Teixeira (R) takes down Thiago Santos in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on November 07, 2020.
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Bones’ ‘Mind Was Blown’ After Teixeira’s Impressive Victory
After the first round of the fight, Jones took to Twitter, writing, “We got ourselves a fight.” He then was radio silent until Teixeira finished Santos but then shared the eyes emoji:
Then, he tweeted, “My mind is blown right now, don’t even know what to say.” He then proclaimed that Teixeira is the greatest of all time, writing, “Glovers the new goat.”
Jones continued, “I’m proud to have beat this guy, I like him.”
I’m proud to have beat this guy, I like him 🤙🏾
He then finished by agreeing that the Brazilian deserves the next shot at the UFC light heavyweight championship. Jones wrote, “Somebody give the man his shot.”
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Teixeira Will Likely Have to Wait for a Shot at the Championship
Since the fight was announced, Teixeira and Santos was billed as a No. 1 contender fight with the winner presumably receiving a shot at the title. However, UFC president Dana White recently announced that middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is moving up to light heavyweight to fight champion Jan Blachowicz in 2021.
After defeating Santos, Teixeira made it clear that he wants to fight for the light heavyweight belt again, feeling he is the most deserving fighter in the division. If he decides to sit out and wait for the winner of Adesanya and Blachowicz, Teixeira may not return to action until late 2021.
Blachowicz took to Twitter on Saturday night to reveal that if Adesanya doesn’t want to wait until March to fight, he would gladly take on the Brazilian. Blachowiz wrote, “Great fight and incredible run by @gloverteixeira. You totally deserve to fight for the title and get taste of the #LegendaryPolishPower. If Adesanya can’t wait till March, let’s go.”
Great fight and incredible run by @gloverteixeira. You totally deserve to fight for the title and get taste of the #LegendaryPolishPower.
If Adesanya can’t wait till March, let’s go 👊 #UFCVegas13
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UFC Superstar Jon Jones Shocked: ‘My Mind Is Blown’