It’s a rare fighter that eyes retirement right after winning a UFC title, but Glover Teixeira is no ordinary champion. Pushing 43 years of age, Teixeira clarified an earlier statement that implied he could retire this year, pointing out that he has a “perfect scenario” for the very end of his career.
“If there’s a perfect [plan], it would be that if I win this fight – of course I am confident, but the thing is when you guys ask me a question way before I get into camp, it’s almost like, maybe I’ll fight one more time. But when I’m camp right now, I’m a lion.
Glover Teixeira: “I want to retire from the sport, I don’t want the sport to retire me.”
You’ve got to come see my training. Then you’ll see, and you’re probably not even going to ask that question about retirement. Because the way I’ve been training, the way I’ve been feeling, the way camp is going lately, I’m so happy about everything.
Eventually, I do want to retire. I said the perfect scenario is me beating this guy in Singapore and hopefully fight Jan [Blachowicz] at Madison Square Garden in November and then call it a day.
But I don’t want to make a decision like that. I think that’s a possibility, but I don’t want to [say], ‘Oh I’m going to retire this year, or a couple more fights,’ or this and that.”
Glover Texeira, when he retires, wants it to be a final decision. He won’t want to come back and try to reclaim his former glory.
“I don’t want to make a call and be desperate later. I even mentioned Henry Cejudo. Nothing against the guy, I love the kid, but you see him retired [and] he knows he wants to come back. He knows he has more. I don’t want to make this decision like that, but it would be a possibility, yeah.”
Not least among his concerns is the financial implications of retirement from competition. “I’m not doing it for the money. I did it for the championship.
Like I keep saying to people, we worked so hard in our life fighting for nothing, but now we’re making good money, and stepping away [is hard]. You’ve got to look around. Why is my life better? Why do I need more?
It’s definitely not for the money. I’m fighting right now because I’m the champion. I want to defend this title.” What do you think of Glover Teixeira’s retirement talk? Let us know in the comments.
