Glover Teixeira reacts to Dana White claiming Israel Adesanya will get the next shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight title
Glover Teixeira will be facing Thiago Santos in the main event of UFC Vegas 13 in a few hours time. Ideally, this fight would have determined who gets a shot to challenge UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowicz next.
However, things have taken a turn with Dana White announcing that UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya will get the opportunity ahead of either of them.
Speaking to Phil Murphy on ESPN MMA ahead of his bout with Thiago Santos, Glover Teixeira opened up about what he thinks of Israel Adesanya challenging the 205-pound title.
Glover Teixeira is not worried about Israel Adesanya moving up to LHW
When asked how he feels about Israel Adesanya moving up and getting a title shot before him, Glover Teixeira said that he could not care less about it. He said he does not pay attention to the decision-making process, as it is the UFC's job and he has no control over it.
Glover Teixeira only worries about the things he can control or do something about, like preparing for the next fight.
"I'm don't really pay attention to these things. I'm not worried about it too much. I'm focused on this fight. I focus on stuff that I can control. The things that are not in my control, it's not for me to be thinking about it."
The bout between Glover Teixeira and Thiago Santos was originally scheduled for September, but Teixeira tested positive for COVID-19. It was then rescheduled for October, but this time Thiago Santos contracted the virus, leading to a cancellation once again.
Finally, November turned out to be lucky and it seems like the fight will go down without anything else intervening.
Glover Teixeira on training through COVID
Glover Teixeira was asked at which point during his recovery he felt fit enough to resume training for the fight.
Glover Teixeira said that he took a couple of days off to rest and recover from COVID-19 before starting training again. It did not trouble him a lot, but Glover Teixeira did feel more fatigue and exhaustion than usual - a very common symptom of COVID-19.
"It didn't bother me that much but I felt a little bit tired. I didn't feel like I was prior to COVID. I don't know if it's all in the mind."
The tiredness and lack of motivation did not last long. All he had to do was train for three to four days and go hard at it to find his energy back. Both Teixeira and Santos made weight successfully at 205.5 pounds at Friday's weigh-ins ahead of their bout.