Former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira is ready to come out of retirement. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Teixeira said he’s open to fighting in various combat sports and would entertain fights with the UFC.
If it happens, and it seems like a strong bet that it will, there is an opponent on the horizon who makes sense for Teixeira in his comeback fight.
It’s newly signed former kickboxer-turned-MMA, Artem Vakhitov.
Since retiring from competition in January 2023, Teixeira has poured a ton of energy into training current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Vakhitov and Pereira have a history. The two men fought twice in kickboxing, splitting their series.
Vakhitov recently fought in the Dana White Contender Series.
He defeated Islem Masraf by TKO in the first round, though the Russian’s performance wasn’t the most impressive of the night.
However, because of Vakhitov’s success as a kickboxer and history with Pereira, the latter was on hand for his former foe’s audition. White said Pereira is the one who convinced him to give Vakhitov a contract, which further links the two men.
Pereira, who also won the UFC middleweight championship, has become the most successful kickboxer-turned-mixed-martial-artist in history, and his success has inspired and paved the way for guys like Vakhitov.
Vakhitov is 33 years old, so while he’s not over the hill, he is old enough for the UFC to give him a bit more advanced opponents in his first few fights than they would do with a younger guy or girl who earned a contract on the Contender Series.
Because Teixeira is 45 years old, he wouldn’t necessarily represent an opponent equivalent to dumping Vakhitov in with the sharks from Day One, and it’s hard to ignore the story that could be told leading up to the fight.
Teixeira’s last two fights in the UFC were for championships.
He lost his title to Jiri Prochazka in June 2022 by TKO. After an injury forced Prochazka to vacate the title, Teixeira lost to Jamahal Hill by unanimous decision for the vacant championship in January 2023.
Since those losses, Teixeira defeated another UFC light heavyweight, Anthony Smith, in a grappling match at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational in June 2023.
The UFC would love to see Vakhitov ascend in the rankings to challenge Pereira for the light heavyweight title ultimately. The two men don’t have beef, but if we get to that point, the story would be similar to the rivalry Pereira had with Israel Adesanya after their history in kickboxing.
If Vakhitov were to fight and defeat Teixeira, an eventual meeting between the newcomer and Pereira would potentially have some extra layers because of the relationship between the two Brazilian legends.
Teixeira would represent a serious test for Vakhitov’s developing grappling skills, and it would only add to the story if Pereira were in his trainer’s corner for the fight.
If Teixeira does come back and accept a fight in the UFC, here’s to hoping this is the one that is pitched and both parties accept.
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