Former light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira hung up his gloves in front of a home crowd after a title loss to Jamahal Hill at UFC 283 in January.
The Brazilian veteran admitted to being too tough for his own good and also cited the lack of new talent in the light heavyweight title mix. However, Teixeira recently laid down a condition that could bring him out of retirement.
While the 43-year-old claims to be in a comfortable position post-retirement, he admitted that a lucrative enough payday could lure him back to competition. Teixeira also referred to former heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes, who came out of retirement to fight a surging Mike Tyson in 1988.
Emphasizing that the sum needs to be life-changing, the former UFC light heavyweight champion told Portuguese outlet Ag.Fight:
“Money talks. If I get paid, I come out of retirement. Didn’t Larry Holmes come out of retirement after three years to fight Mike Tyson? They offered him money he had never made before. To be honest, I’m happy with where I am now. But if they think there’s a fight that would sell well and they offer me enough money to leave the place where I am, put my family in this good a situation, then let’s go.” h/t agfight.com
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Glover Teixeira decided on retirement midway through his fight with Jamahal Hill
Glover Teixeira lost his strap to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275 in June 2022 in a last-minute shock upset. While a rematch was set up for December, ‘Denisa’ pulled out due to a severe shoulder injury, also vacating his title to allow the division to move on.
Teixeira was then booked against Jamahal Hill, who went on to surpass all expectations in the main event at UFC 283. ‘Sweet Dreams’ put on a clinic, outclassing the Brazilian veteran in all aspects to notch a unanimous decision win.
According to Teixeira, he finalized his decision to retire while taking punishment from Hill. The former champion cited his inability to find range and capitalize on takedowns against his 31-year-old opponent. Teixeira told Ag.Fight in a previous interview:
“That’s why I retired. Because being there and not being able to deal with the distance and all that anymore. I was already tired of losing weight and the guy fought well, he was faster, you have to give him credit. It was something decided right then and there. The way the fight was going, because I wasn’t able to find the distance, taking a lot of hits.”
He added:
“There was a time when I put him down there in the last round and I couldn’t finish. It was the decision I made right then and there. Of course if I won I would continue, I would defend the belt, that was the plan. But that’s what happened at the time” h/t Ag.Fight
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