Teixeira has one of the strongest stories in the UFC, and Prochazka will try to ruin it for him. What has the Brazilian veteran had to go through in his life?

Glover Teixeira is now the UFC welterweight champion despite being 42 years old. Moreover, he will defend his title this summer and his opponent will be none other than Jiri Prochazka. What is the opponent of the Moravian fighter and what is his life story?

Glover Teixeira and his childhood

Glover Teixeira was born in 1979 in the poor Brazilian town of Sobralia, growing up in slums without electricity with extremely poor social background. He didn’t know much about MMA and combat sports as a child, knowing virtually nothing about the outside world.

He didn’t see TV for the first time until he was 12 years old, and for a long time they only had two channels on TV. He got his first sniff of combat sports at the age of 16 when he saw a fight of the legendary Brazilian fighter Marco Ruas.

He lived in such poor and bad conditions in Brazil for almost 20 years. Then he decided he wanted to make himself and his family better off. So he tried to get to the United States.

Glover Teixeira and migration to the USA

At the age of 19, Glover Teixeira decided to risk his own life. He left his native Brazil to come to the USA. He finally succeeded in doing so, when he made it to Connecticut, USA. However, it wasn’t easy.

“It took me 43 days to get here. Everyone knows how dangerous it is to cross the US-Mexico border. People are dying, being arrested, tortured. My mother was concerned about my decision, but she believed I was following my dream and a better life,” Teixeira told MMA Fighting a year ago.

The Brazilian spent eight days in Tijuana during his trip to the U.S.: “We waited for the fog to come so the helicopter and the immigration people wouldn’t see us. We had to wait for a heavy fog so we could cross the desert at night.”

The complications did not end there, however. When he was able to cross the border and get to San Diego, he was held in a small room by the smugglers. The reason? The smugglers wanted more money. For 12 long days, he had virtually no food and had lost a lot of weight. Eventually, however, payment was made and Teixeira made it to Boston, where he made a living as a carpenter and road builder.

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Glover Teixeira and martial arts

Glover Teixeira spent 12 hours at work every day after his successful escape to the US. He watched boxing matches in the evenings and started training after his first paycheck.

Teixera spent 12 hours at work every day. He then watched boxing matches in the evenings, became a big fan of Mike Tyson and wanted to start training. A friend told him he had to sign up for Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“I told him jiu-jitsu would never beat Mike Tyson. So he showed me a tape that had Royce Gracie on it. I was amazed and so I started watching all the UFC tournaments,” he revealed to ESPN years ago.

Teixeira then started training and after six months, he had his first fight. He kept pushing, even though his coaches said he wasn’t ready. Understandably, he lost. It was a great experience for him, though, as fighters like Frank Shamrock, Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson attended the tournament.

After the loss, he decided he had to train with the pros. From 2005 to 2008 he lived in California, where he trained with Chuck Liddell, later UFC champion. Teixeira admitted that it was from him that he picked up how to train and fight professionally. Likewise, it was from him that he learned most of his skills.

For practically two years, Teixeira just trained. Within a year, he had developed into Liddell’s main sparring partner. They trained together in all aspects of fighting. And it paid off. For in his next eight fights, he met his only opponent.

Glover Teixeira and the UFC

Glover Teixeira was putting on great performances and was noticed by several organizations, including the famous UFC. But there was a catch. Teixeira was an illegal immigrant and could not fight in these organizations. So he decided to apply for American citizenship, but he didn’t get it.

Teixeira’s lawyer advised him to travel to his native Brazil and apply for a work visa there. But that step failed, and the problem was over. Teixeira had to stay in Brazil for four years without his wife Ingrid, whom he had married in the US.

But he was driven forward by the promise of Dana White, the head of the UFC. He promised Teixeira that he would get a contract from the UFC as soon as he returned to the US. And that’s exactly what happened in 2012.

In Brazil, however, Teixeira didn’t slack off. On the contrary. He defeated one opponent after another, taking on three former UFC fighters. It was clear he had a lot of potential. And he showed it even after signing with the famous organization. In the UFC, Teixeira won his first five fights and was quickly on his way to a title fight.

So his opponent in 2014 was the legendary Jon Jones, arguably the greatest fighter of all time. Teixeira didn’t make the fight and it was clear that Jones was elsewhere. The Brazilian thus lost on points, ending his streak of 20 wins. He subsequently lost one more fight and several ups and downs followed.

Glover Teixera had a downfall and managed to come out on top

The loss to Jon Jones had a bad effect on the Brazilian’s career. Glover Teixeira experienced four losses in his next nine fights. In 2018, his career seemed to be coming to an end. He had problems with alcohol, attended various parties and good lifestyle was definitely not his strong point.

So it was up to his colleague Lyoto Machida to speak into his head, who told Teixeira that he still had a chance to fight for the title and that he didn’t have much time. And the Brazilian started to act. He changed his habits, his discipline and started training a lot more. “Being disciplined hurts at first, but it’s worth it,” Teixeira is clear.

After his loss to Corey Anderson, Teixeira started his journey to fulfill his dream. He won five fights in a row and lived to see another title fight. He was the favorite in that one, but he defeated Jan Blachowicz to become the second oldest champion in UFC history at 42 years old.

So Teixeira is living the dream, and he has made it come true. He is a legend. He boasts a perfect record of 33 to 7. But now he faces a big challenge in the form of Moravian fighter Jiri Prochazka.

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Source: UFC, ESPN, MMA Fighting