There is a reason why Glover Texeira would avoid being on the same card as Alex Pereira.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion and the current UFC middleweight champion are teammates, training together in Connecticut where Texeira operates his own gym. Given their relationship, Texeira and Pereira have often helped each other prepare for upcoming fights.
Texeira was in the corner of Pereira at UFC 281, where he dethroned Israel Adesanya by fifth-round TKO this past November. And ‘Po Atan’ stayed in the United States to corner his teammate for his upcoming rematch against Jiří Procházka at UFC 282 in December – before it was canceled after ‘Denisa’ suffered an injury.
Though they have shared a few experiences in the UFC, there is one that Texeira is not keen on sharing. In an interview with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, the Brazilian explained why he wants to avoid fighting on the same card as Pereira.
“That’s a little bit too much,” said Texeira. “I like to be there for him and same thing, he likes to be there for me. That’s why he didn’t fly to Brazil because of this fight. He was trying to go back to Brazil right away, but then he’s like, ‘ You know, I’m going to wait for your fight,’ and then he waited around and [the cancellation] happened. We’re there for each other, but if it happens, it happens. It would be a beautiful thing. We’d deal with any situation.”
As far as his next fight is concerned, Texeira expects to challenge the winner of Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev, who are vying for the now-vacant title.
Texeira has not fought since losing to Procházka by submission in their ‘Fight of the Year’ contender at UFC 275 in June.
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