Glover Teixeira retired after his unanimous decision loss to Jamahal Hill back in January and with the year almost drawing to a close it seems that the former 205lb champion isn’t likely to change his mind, even if he does miss competing.
“I told Poatan when we were waiting to walk out [at UFC 295] that I missed that a little bit,” Teixeira said on MMAFighting’s “Trocação Franca” podcast. “But that’s not something I did for money, I did it because I really loved it. I miss the old times, but I it’s not like I think about coming back.”
The 44-year-old Teixeira fought for longer than most, with his career spanning over two decades, but in the end he could see that time had caught up with him.
“I simply stopped fighting because I thought I lost to some guys — even Jiri and that last fight with Jamahal. Not taking anything away from those guys, but I felt it was the age factor, really. I was getting slower, weaker. F—, 35-year-old me would trash those guys. But it’s time, right?”
Luckily for Teixeira, he’s not found new purpose in his life since hanging up his gloves, as he’s been channelling his energy and experience into helping Alex Pereira achieve greatness in the sport.
“It’s time to move on, and what better way than that, when you see someone that can do the job better than you? And instead of feeling jealous or resentful about it, you help him with everything you got so he gets even better? That’s what we’re doing here with Poatan. When I saw that ‘Poatan’ was doing it better than me, especially when he said he planned on going to light heavyweight, I thought, ‘I’ll bet all my chips and put all my energy on him, because I’m sure he’ll do it better.’ And he’s doing it.”
