LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White has committed to Glover Teixeira as the next UFC light heavyweight title challenger.
But Teixeira might have to wait a while to get his hands on champion Jan Blachowicz.
Teixeira (32-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) has put together a five-fight winning streak late in his career to put himself in position to vie for the 205-pond title again. He came up short in his first opportunity against Jon Jones at UFC 172 in April 2014, and years later he’s rebuilt himself.
Many think Teixeira should’ve been the one challenging Blachowicz for UFC gold this past Saturday at UFC 259, but middleweight champion Israel Adesanya moved up in weight and cut the line in an attempt to become a two-division titleholder. But Blachowicz shut down Adesanya’s bid at history, and now the natural order of the weight class can resume.
White said after UFC 259 that Teixeira is the man on deck to get Blachowicz next.
“Glover is (next) – 100 percent,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC 259 post-fight news conference.
Although his services were ultimately not needed, Teixeira trained for UFC 259 and weighed in as backup in case anything happened to Blachowicz or Adesanya. At 41, the Brazilian probably can’t afford to let any opportunity pass him by, but now he could be looking at a bit of a wait before his title shot comes to fruition.
Blachowicz isn’t looking to rush his way back into the octagon after beating Adesanya, he said. The Polish titleholder said taking at least six months away from the octagon is his priority because he wants to enjoy the fruits of his labor with his newborn son.
It may take until September at the earliest, but Blachowicz said he has every intention of giving Teixeira his opportunity.
“(I want a) short break – minimum half-year break,” Blachowicz said. “I want to spend some time with my family. I am a father. My child was just born and I don’t spend any time with him because I have to prepare for my fight. If he wants to wait, (Teixeira) will be my next opponent.”
Glover Teixeira is ‘100 percent’ next for Jan Blachowicz, but champ seeks six-month layoff