MMA might just be the only sport where fans routinely label athletes in their mid-30s “prospects.”
It’s a label that’s been attached to UFC light heavyweight Glover Teixeira for years, and for some reason it’s still stuck to the powerhouse Brazilian despite the fact that he’s won 19 straight fights, including four straight inside the Octagon, and despite the fact that he is 33 years old.
I’d like to believe that Teixeira has moved past the prospect label, but the truth of the matter is he’s still being called a prospect by fans because of the way the UFC has been slowly building him up.
Teixeira came into the UFC in early 2012 riding a 15-fight win streak that included victories over former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez, Marvin Eastman, and Sokoudjou. Although he was 32 when he made his UFC debut against Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 146, fans and media were calling Teixeira a prospect solely because of his lack of Octagon experience, even though everyone was aware he was a longtime training partner of former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell.
At UFC 146, Teixeira disposed of Kingsbury in quick and devastating fashion, and the UFC booked him to fight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. But when Jackson pulled out of UFC 153 with an injury, Teixeira then fought Fabio Maldonado – a fighter who had earlier lost a decision to Kingsbury – and beat the snot out of him so bad the doctor had to stop the fight. The matchmaking didn’t make much sense, but it gave the Brazilian fans live in attendance a slugfest, and it got Teixeira some more experience inside the Octagon.
The victory over Maldonado earned Teixeira another fight against Jackson, and he ended up defeating the former UFC light heavyweight champion by decision at UFC on FOX 6. Teixeira was then matched up against Ryan Bader at UFC 160, but an injury pulled Bader out of the action and his replacement was James Te Huna, who Teixeira ended up defeating via first-round submission, winning the event’s “Submission of the Night” award in the process.
Now it’s been revealed that Teixeira’s reward for taking out Te Huna is a fight against the same man he was just supposed to fight at UFC 160, Bader, and the two will tangle in what could be the main event of UFC Fight Night 28 this September in Brazil.
To me, the matchup makes sense because it will finally pit Teixeira against a wrestler who is really going to test how good his takedown defence is. But it’s not the right wrestler: Rashad Evans was. And the fact that Teixeira isn’t fighting Evans his next time out speaks volumes about where the UFC currently sees him in the division.
If the UFC truly viewed Teixeira as an immediate contender to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, they wouldn’t need to see Teixeira’s wrestling tested against Bader. But since they do want to see it tested, it’s showing me that the UFC still views Teixeira as a prospect, and not as someone who is a challenger for Jones’ title, at least not in the immediate future. Because if they did, he would be fighting Evans in the main event or co-main event of a pay-per-view card with a title shot on the line. Instead, he’s fighting Bader, who isn’t even two years removed from being choked out by a washed-up Tito Ortiz. I’m not saying Bader isn’t tough, but he’s not a title contender at all, and he isn’t that much of an upgrade over Jackson and Te Huna, two guys that Teixeira just took out with ease.
It’s clear that the UFC is taking the slow and steady approach to Teixeira, and that’s totally fine if that’s what they want to do, but they have to realize that even though a 33-year-old in MMA can still be labeled a prospect, it’s still a 33-year-old athlete, and their shelf lives are definitely shorter than someone who is 23. That’s why the slow and steady approach might ultimately end up burning both Teixeira and the UFC if he loses to someone on his way up the ladder.
I personally feel that Teixeira should be fighting Evans right now, and that this fight with Bader is just a waste of time. Honestly, this is likely going to be a blowout like most Brazilian vs. American matchups on Brazilian UFC cards are, and while it may please the fans in Brazil, I’m not sure what good it does for Teixeira. I really hope the UFC matchmakers know what they’re doing here, because they’re risking losing a contender in a shallow division for a relatively meaningless matchup, and honestly, I’m really not sure if it’s a good idea.
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UFC Fight Night 28: Teixeira vs. Bader is due to take place on September 4, 2013 at the Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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