Grandpa Teixeira Lived To Watch Glover Win It All

Winning the light heavyweight title was a special moment for Glover Teixeira.

But it may have been even more special for the Brazilian’s grandfather, who did not think he would live long enough to watch Teixeira capture the 205-pound crown, especially after the now 42 year-old slugger lost to then-champion Jon Jones back in 2014.

Eight years later, Teixeira can finally call himself the best in the world.

“In Sobralia (Brazil), when I saw the faces of those people, the old ones, my uncles, my mom of course … my grandpa couldn’t believe what happened,” Teixeira said on Ep. 4 of UFC 275 Embedded. “He kept repeating, ‘Of the entire world? For real? The best in the entire world?’ I get very emotional talking about him because he used to say that he wouldn’t be alive to see me become champion. He thought he would not be here anymore. I used to think, ‘Oh wow, he might be right because it’s taking too long.’ But 20 years later he was there waiting. He is 96 years old and he witnessed it.”

The work has just begun.

Teixeira will have to defend his light heavyweight title against dangerous division striker Jiri Prochazka in the UFC 275 pay-per-view (PPV) main event this Sat. night (June 11, 2022) inside Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The Brazilian is currently a +170 underdog and will need to defy the odds one more time for his family in Sobralia.

For Episodes 1-3 of UFC 275 “Embedded” click here, here, and here.