For those who love an underdog story, or watching an old warrior get one last shot at gold, UFC 267’s main event had it all.
Glover Teixeira, at 42-years young, had undergone the sort of late-career resurgence rarely seen in MMA. Looking to join the legendary Randy Courture among the 40+ club, Teixeira was set to challenge Jan Blachowicz on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Blachowicz, at 38, was no spring chicken himself, but was coming off a definitive decision victory against middleweight champ Israel Adesanya.
After a week of friendly exchanges where the champion actually gave his opponent a birthday gift, we arrived Saturday night to find out who was the best at 205 pounds.
Round 1: After a few strikes from Jan, Glover was able to get the champion down on his back rather quickly. Glover switched between landing left hands and then stacking Jan and putting his head under the chin of the champion for basically the entire round. Anytime he was able to get clear and land shots Jan would rush to get over hooks again and Glover’s posture. Jan looked at Glover as they stood up and told him he got 1.
HUUUUUGE early takedown for @GloverTeixeira 😤
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— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2021
Round 2: Jan, very aware of the takedowns, began stuffing them before they even came. Jan worked the jab hard and fast. Glover used combinations to get close and shoot on Jan repeatedly which were mostly stuffed. Glover was able to land on Jan and stun him momentarily but Jan returned fire with uppercuts and left hooks. Then on the last shot Glover was able to finish the takedown, move to full mount, force the champion to flatten out and took his neck forcing Blachowicz to tap to the rear naked choke! Glover Teixeira becomes the second oldest UFC champion in history at 42-years-old!
HUUUUUGE early takedown for @GloverTeixeira 😤
[ #UFC267 | Tune in LIVE on @ESPNPlus | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/cNJiBbWlYp
UNDISPUTED CHAMP AT 42 YEARS OLD!!!! 🏆
— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2021
20 years of blood sweat and tears, ups and downs and everything in between, Glover Teixeira wins one for everyone who refuses to give up on their dreams.
Official Result: Glover Teixeira def. Jan Blachowicz by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 3:02
