“I really loved it,” Glover Teixeira reveals craving octagon thrill while walking out with Alex Pereira to win the title

Glover Teixeira was at the corner of newly minted champion, Alex Pereira, at UFC 295. Standing at 33-9-0, the retired light heavyweight is a close friend and sparring partner to the “Poatan.” He also walked out Pereira at UFC 295 against Jiri Prochazka. In his penultimate matchup, Teixeira had lost to Prochazka, via way of a submission, in 2022. Pereira knocked out Prochazka in the main event at Madison Square Garden, earlier this month.

The former 205lbs champion commenced his retirement from mixed martial arts, after a thunderous bout with Jamahal Hill. He came up short for the vacant gold, last January; thus transitioning into mentoring Alex Pereira. He thus had a vested interest going up against Prochazka. Speaking on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast, he shed light on a comeback. He said:

I told ‘Poatan’ when we were waiting to walk out that I missed that a little bit. 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 mentor cued in that he is “living in the moment”. He even credited extensive meditational practices and spending time alone at his Danbury residence. Teixeira also mentioned having talked to Lyoto Machida, who went through immense post-retirement hassles of his own. The UFC veteran now advises and spars with Pereira.

The 44-year-old nudged in the notion that it’s “a pleasure” working with Pereira in Connecticut. He mentioned being closely fond of his family circle, as well. He believes the relationship they have subsequently garnered over the years is what all fighters would aspire to have.

Israel Adesanya instills a cryptic post, hinting at a showdown with Alex Pereira

Alex “Poatan” Pereira scored his most recent TKO victory over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295. At the post-fight presser, Pereira had gone to make a callout to longtime rival, Israel Adesanya. Adesanya and Pereira have had two octagon encounters.

Pereira defeated Adesanya to claim the middleweight title at UFC 281. The duo met again at UFC 287, where “The Last Stylebender” knocked out “Poatan” to regain the 185lbs title. Pereira has ever since been keen on closing out a trilogy bout, on his terms.

Initially, the pairing was once and for all rejected, by all and sundry. CEO Dana White dismissed the notion quickly; while Adesanya mocked the champion for storing him in his head, “rent-free.” Lately, however, things have taken a wild turn.

Adesanya shared an unofficial UFC 298 poster featuring Alexander Volkanovski (26-3 MMA) defending his featherweight title against unbeaten Ilia Topuria. The poster showed Adesanya and Pereira squaring off, in an unexpected tease.

The whole thing turned out to be a promotional stint by Engage, Adesanya’s combat sports apparel brand. But it has left fans expecting more. If such a conclusive bout was to ever happen at UFC 298, it would take place on Feb. 17, 2024, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

In case you missed it:

• WATCH: Alex Pereira Shares hilarious moment as Glover Teixeira tries and fails to double slap persistent teaser
• “Gives Izzy power over him,” UFC legend claims Alex Pereira challenging Israel Adesanya shifts power in latter’s hand

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