When does a three-fight winning streak in the UFC reduce the victorious fighter’s hype with each subsequent win?
When that fighter is Glover Teixeira.
After what seemed like an eternity fighting faded names in fringe organizations, the Brazilian light heavyweight made his UFC debut to much fanfare last May at UFC 146.
Carried into the cage by plenty of hype and UFC analyst Joe Rogan singing his praises on the televised broadcast, Teixeira impressed, blistering Kyle Kingsbury with strikes before finishing the fight with an arm-triangle choke just before the two-minute mark of the opening round.
His name was immediately bandied about as a potential contender, based on a combination of his strong first showing, vast experience, and the Chuck Liddell-John Hackleman seal of approval; Rogan’s over-the-top praise before, during, and after his win over Kingsbury contributed as well.
Teixeira returned five months later to take on countryman Fabio Maldonado on the main card of UFC 153 in Brazil. While Teixeira earned a second consecutive victory, the 33-year-old also showed some chinks in his armour. Maldonado took the best Teixeira had to offer and didn’t drop, continuing to come forward, and fire back at points, including tagging Teixeira late in the first round.
The surging Brazilian earned the victory when the ringside physician stopped the fight following the second round, pushing his winning streak to 17, but prompting some to pump the brakes a little when it came to hyping Teixeira as an immediate title contender.
In January, Teixeira stepped onto the main card of this year’s first UFC on FOX event to face former light-heavyweight champion Quinton (Rampage) Jackson. Normally, a win over a high-profile opponent on the biggest platform available would be something that solidifies a fighter as a contender, but in Teixeira’s case, it seemed to give fans and critics reason to reconsider their early “he’s a title challenger” chants.
This wasn’t the same Rampage who once ruled the light-heavyweight division; this was a disinterested shell of the once-feared fighter. It was the final fight of Jackson’s UFC contract and the disgruntled fighter had one foot out the door before he even stepped into the Octagon, which led many to believe he’d be easy prey for the well-rounded Brazilian.
The fight went the distance, marking the first time in more than three years that Teixeira had been to the scorecards, and even though he kept his winning streak intact, it wasn’t the emphatic showing many expected against the outgoing former champion, and the calls for the Brazilian to be in the title mix continued to grow quieter.
Part of the cause is the simple nature of the sport itself: time waits for no man, and while Teixeira has been on the sidelines and preparing for his return this weekend, others in the division have stepped forward, and more established names have been lined up in more eye-catching contests.
Champion Jon Jones endured a broken toe mid-fight to beat Chael Sonnen and lobbied for a fight with Alexander Gustafsson in the aftermath. With his mangled toe potentially keeping him out of action for a period of time, talk of Gustafsson taking on Lyoto Machida moved to the forefront. A month from now in Winnipeg, four light heavyweights – Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Shogun Rua – pair off, looking to solidify their respective places in the pecking order.
The other part of the equation, however, comes down to Teixeira’s decreasing dominance as he’s climbed the competitive ladder.
Blasting Kingsbury in his debut was a tremendous start, but he’s gone deeper into each successive fight. While that is partially to be expected considering he’s fighting stiffer competition, the truth is that Teixeira has yet to share the cage with anyone of who would be considered “in the mix” in the light-heavyweight division.
Rampage may be a recognizable name, but he was far from being a contender when the two shared the cage in January. This weekend was supposed to be Teixeira’s opportunity to test himself against another top-10 competitor, but his original opponent, Ryan Bader, was forced from the bout with an injury, leading to surging New Zealander James Te-Huna stepping in.
Te-Huna is a high risk/low reward match-up for Teixeira – he’s far less of a name than the former Ultimate Fighter winner Bader, but he’s a steadily improving powerhouse who has won four straight and five of six overall in the UFC; his lone loss came at UFC 127 against top contender Alexander Gustafsson.
To make matters worse, the surging 31-year-old is tough to finish, as exhibited by his gutsy performance in February against Ryan Jimmo. Te-Huna ate a thunderous headkick in the first round but managed to survive, and then turned the tables on the Canadian in the second and third, controlling the action with his wrestling, and punishing Jimmo with ground-and-pound.
Even if Teixeira scores a dominant win over Te-Huna on Saturday, it might not be enough to regenerate the buzz that he carried heading into his debut and following his thorough dismantling of Kingsbury. Fair or not, Te-Huna doesn’t get the credit he deserves as a darkhorse contender in the division, and as such, a win for Teixeira wouldn’t carry as much weight as if he had beaten a more established, more proven opponent like Bader.
In reality, this brief pause in Teixeira’s rapid ascension up the ranks might be the best thing for him.
Defeating Te-Huna would give him four straight victories since moving to the UFC, and set him up to take on one of the aforementioned veterans competing next month in Winnipeg. He’s undoubtedly skilled, but with so many fighters currently queuing up for a chance to challenge Jon Jones, there is no reason to rush Teixeira to the head of the line on a good-but-not-great winning streak and hype that has suddenly stalled.
Sometimes the best thing that can happen to you if you’re a much-ballyhooed prospect is that you’re forced to press pause. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, skip one too many steps, and get beaten. Suddenly, you’re at the back of the line, two steps behind where you started.
First, Teixeira needs to beat Te-Huna on Saturday night, which is far from a guarantee. If he’s able to do that, he will be one more good win away from challenging for the light-heavyweight championship.
Until he beats a legitimate top-10 oppponent, however, let’s continue to ease off on the title talk, and let Teixeira continue to prove himself one fight at a time inside the Octagon.
