From getting deported to becoming a UFC champion- Here’s how Glover Teixeira endured it all to become a true legend
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Glover Teixeira at UFC 267
Glover Teixeira has overcome many hurdles in life to get where he is now as one of the biggest superstars on the UFC roster. Teixeira was born in Sobralia of Minas Gerais state in Brazil. After having a tough life as a kid, Teixeira came to the U.S as an immigrant in 1999. He crossed the Mexican borders and stayed in Danbury, Connecticut. To earn money, Teixeira worked in the landscaping industry.
After some time, Teixeira found combat sports very intriguing and started training in MMA. During that time he met his lovely wife Ingrid and both got married. However, his journey from a professional MMA fighter to the UFC light heavyweight champion was not that easy.
Frequent problems regarding immigration kept the fighter away from UFC as well as from meeting his wife. The fighter had no other choice but to stay outside the USA for four long years. This happened when the fighter got an opportunity to fight in UFC but due to paperwork, he lost a lot of his valuable time.
Glover Teixeira and her wife shares details about his tough journey before coming to UFC
UFC recently interviewed the couple and asked them to share their experience regarding citizenship approval.
Both Teixeira and Ingrid were having a lot of trouble as the fighter was forced to stay in Brazil and continue his MMA fights. According to the fighter, he was very upset as well as angry and I was only focusing on fighting every opponent. He said :
“Just fighting everybody. They offer me to fight, I fight. Sometimes they pay, sometimes they don’t. I just fighting everybody, I was madman.”
Hoping for things to get better, Ingrid wrote a letter to Connecticut’s congressman’s office addressing it to Chris Murphy, the Senator. Fortunately, their letter came into the eyes of the officials and the couple got a call for an interview. The interview went all and everything looked positive.
“Five days later passport arrived. Seven days later I got my green card in a mail….when I come here for first-time, the enthusiasm for life to start a new journey. Go live my dream. ” Said Teixeira.
It has truly been a motivating journey for Teixeira who also got his US citizenship approval in the year 2020. The fighter shared the experience through his official Instagram account.
Soon afer, Glover fought the then light heavyweight champion Jan Błachowicz. He surprised everyone by beating Jan via submission in the second round of the fight and became the champion at an age of 42. From fighting in Brazil as a madman to become a UFC champion, his story is truly inspiring and can motivate many to work hard.
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)