Photo courtesy of UFC.
If you have something to say about Glover Teixeira being next in line for a title shot, Dana White has heard it all before.
Fan disapproval of Teixeira getting the next fight with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is something the UFC president is used to. When Jones was preparing to fight Alexander Gustafsson, for example, White got a lot of flack from fans for pitting the Swedish challenger against the champ. It’s comedic, according to the UFC boss.
“It’s funny because before the Gustafsson fight, everyone was like, ‘Oh, Gustafsson’s getting a shot at Jones – this is ridiculous. This guy and that guy should be fighting Jones,'” White told reporters in Brazil on Sunday. “It doesn’t matter who Jones beats, people are always going to hate on Jon Jones.”
When Teixeira was announced as the next fighter to contend for Jones’ gold belt, fan disapproval showed up once again to let White know he doesn’t know what he’s doing. But instead of saying “you’re right, guys,” White turned to Teixeira’s impressive résumé as justification for the fighter’s challenger status.
“Jon Jones has that tough fight now, and it’s like, ‘Oh, Glover Teixeira doesn’t deserve it.’ Glover Teixeira is on a 21-fight win streak and he knocks people out,” White exclaimed.
In Teixeira’s last fight, the Brazilian 205-pounder found himself shaken when he was hit by Ryan Bader in the first round of the main event for UFC Fight Night 28 earlier this month. Wobbled, Teixeira was able to recover and win the fight by TKO.
The fighter’s susceptibility to getting hit has made some question whether he would be a competitive fight against Jones, a champion that has finished an impressive 47 percent of his wins.
White’s response to all that? Teixeira is just nasty.
“Has he been in a couple wars and been clipped? Yeah, who cares?” White said of the Brazilian. “The most important part is he ends up winning at the end of the fight and most of the time by knockout. The dude is nasty, he’s tough, and I admire Jon Jones for wanting to fight him next and saying he’ll fight Gustafsson after.”
