Glover Teixeira’s days competing in the Octagon seem numbered.
The UFC light heavyweight champion told Globo’s Mundo de Luta podcast Wednesday that he would like to wrap up his illustrious career in the next few months and this would “probably” be his final year fighting. Teixeira, 42, will defend his light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 275 on June 11 in Singapore against Jiri Prochazka.
“I’ll be 43 in November,” Teixeira said as translated by MMA Fighting. “Regardless of being at the top, being the best of the world or not, I want to stop this year. It will probably be my last year. I don’t want to make this decision after a fight, but it’s what I’ve been thinking for a while.”
Teixeira said his ideal scenario is successfully defending the title against Prochazka and then defending it one more time at the annual UFC pay-per-view in November at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Teixeira, a Brazil native, has lived in Danbury, Connecticut, for two decades and owns a gym in the area.
“The perfect plan would be winning this fight — which I have full focus on — and fighting one last time in November, in New York, which is close to the city I have lived in for 20 years and close to my gym,” Teixeira said. “It would be my farewell from fighting. That’s what I’m thinking now.”
Teixeira (33-7) beat Jan Blachowicz via second-round submission at UFC 267 last October to win the title. The victory came more than seven years after the first time he competed for the title, a loss to Jon Jones at UFC 172 in April 2014. Teixeira has won six in a row and has the most finishes (13) and second most wins (16) in UFC light heavyweight division history.