Former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira wants an immediate rematch for the recently dethroned middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya. Teixeira, who leads Pereira’s training in MMA, wants his teammate to defeat Adesanya across the board, not simply to win a late knockout in a fight he was losing. Teixeira discussed his position in a recent episode of The MMA Hour.
“I’d like to see that fight again just to make some adjustments. Alex, he’s crazy, man. He watches the fight every time he comes to my house. We hang out all the time. We don’t do too much stuff, but we hang out – I call him and go, ‘Hey Alex, what are you doing, man? Bring the kids, I’ll make some hamburgers, we’ll hang out.’
Teixeira Wants Pereira to Rematch Adesanya, Not Fight Khamzat
I like to hang out and talk s***. But he sits down in front of the TV and says, ‘Hey, can you put my fight on?’ I’m like, ‘Bro, we’ve already watched that fight like 500 times.’ And he keeps watching it. [He says], ‘Right there, you see that Glover?’
I think that fight happens right away right now, I think Alex would beat him all the rounds. That’s why I want to see it again. If the UFC asked me, Glover, you decide it, I say let’s do it with Adesanya again, because I want to see Alex beating this guy. Nothing against Adesanya. The guy does an incredible job. Just as a fighter, as a coach, as a friend, I just know he can beat him, and probably not lose a round.”
Teixeira continued, pointing out that how a fighter earns a title is as important as the title itself. “I think if Alex had won the fight the way I won the belt [against Jan Blachowicz], like go in there and beat him in the first round, or go in the second round and knock him out, I wouldn’t be so crazy about it.
But the way the fight was going, I kept telling him, ‘C’mon Alex, you’ve got to pull the trigger, man.’ Because I know his potential. I know his power.”
One name that has been proposed as Pereira’s next opponent is surging welterweight (and occasional middleweight) Khamzat Chimaev, something Teixeira dismissed.
“This fight is all talk. I usually don’t get into talk that doesn’t make any sense, but to light heavyweight, this guy says he accepted it. I remember Alex calling Jorge and saying, ‘Hey Jorge, let’s fight in Brazil.’
I said, ‘What are you doing? You fight in Brazil? Your legs are hurt. You kicked so much, your shins are hurt. You haven’t recovered. Just chill for a while.’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, but this guy’s talking, I’ll fight him at 205. I don’t want to cut the weight.’ I said, ‘Yeah, you can’t cut the weight.’ … Alex is a very strong mind.”
Should Pereira vs Adesanya 2 be the next fight on the cards for the middleweight division? Let us know in the comments.
