‘We Have To Do It Again’

Glover Teixeira is beginning his quest for redemption.

At UFC 275 in Kallang, Singapore, two weekends ago (Sat., June 11, 2022), fans were treated to one of the greatest Light Heavyweight title bouts of all time as Teixeira looked to make a successful first title defense opposite Czech Republic’s Jiri Prochazka. Leading the scorecards as the rollercoaster ride of a fight wound down on the clock, Prochazka slipped out of a bad position and locked in a rear-naked choke submission to force the tap and earn the title (watch highlights).

Originally, there was a discussion about the possibility of the fight taking place in Teixeira’s home country of Brazil. This never materialized, however, and now that Prochazka is the first Czech UFC champion, an eventual title fight in his home country makes sense — so why not for the immediate rematch?

“Why not?” Teixeira told MMA Fighting regarding a second Prochazka match-up. “I was going to fight him in Brazil, [so] we can go after the belt wherever it is. I went to defend it in Singapore. I could have said, ‘No, the first time was going to be in Brazil.’ Sadly, it didn’t work out. [But] we’ll go after this belt wherever, whatever it takes.

“He’s a warrior, a guy that comes forward,” he continued. “I knew he had the heart of a samurai, of a winner, who fought until the end and never gave up. He didn’t give up on the battle and managed to win. In terms of performance, I’m also upset with what happened. I had the perfect performance, was winning the fight and winning well, and I’m sad with the mistake I made. That’s why we have to do it again. It’s time to run it back. He has to realize that’s the fight everybody wants to see right now. Those who missed the first one will watch it now.”

Albeit briefly, Teixeira understands the spoils of being champion and knows that a rematch for a fight as good as the first with Prochazka sells itself. If UFC will see it that way is another story, and UFC President, Dana White, already said before the fight that the winner of the upcoming Magomed Ankalaev and Anthony Smith fight could very well be next in line.

“It’s time for him to make money,” Teixeira said. “He’ll make pay-per-view [money], he’s the champion. Not to mention that we did the talking inside the Octagon. I don’t need to talk a bunch of crap to try to promote this fight, to try to earn the rematch. I really want this rematch [to happen], but I don’t want to have to talk [crap] for it. Many people get lost trying to do it.”

Before the bout with Prochazka, Teixeira admittedly liked the idea of defending the belt and then defending one final time in Nov. 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, retiring afterward. With plans having obviously changed, a similar idea sounds nice to Teixeira as he hopes to win back the title, defend, and maybe retire. But as of right now, he isn’t thinking about directly retiring at all.

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