Former title challenger and #3 ranked contender Glover Teixeira was scheduled to fight #4 ranked Ilir Latifi in the co-main event of UFC Hamburg this weekend. However two weeks before the fight, Latifi pulled out due to an injury and in came #9 ranked contender and former TUF winner Corey Anderson.
Teixeira has had a sloppy run in his last five fights with alternating wins and losses. Teixeira last fought at UFC Winnipeg in December last year when he faced dangerous Misha Cirkunov. Cirkunov started strongly however Teixeira ended up winning the fight via first round TKO. Teixeira was happy to get a victory after a crushing loss to #1 contender Alexander Gustafsson.
“It was great,” said Teixiera to Bloody Elbow. “It was a great fight. Misha is a very tough opponent. And I think I was prepared for a three round fight, but I’m just so glad that I was able to finish the fight quick.”
Teixeira claims he focused on rectifying the mistakes he made in his last fight.
“I try to improve every time,” said Teixeira. “These young guys, they come out with different games, and when you are long enough in this game they try and capitalize on your mistakes. They’re watching you so you have to keep changing things up a bit. You have to keep improving.”
Teixeira further added that it was disappointing to not fight Latifi, however he is prepared for any opponent who was willing to step in.
“When I first found out that Latifi was out, after I did all the camp, all the hard work these weeks, I thought it kind of sucks,” said Teixeira.
“To do all the work and think they might cancel the fight, it sucks. But then Corey comes out and takes the fight. So I have to appreciate him stepping in and saving my fight. So I have a lot of appreciation for him and I want to thank him and thank the UFC for making it happen.”
“I have this mentality that I have to be prepared for everything,” said Teixeira. “I have to train my wrestling, my jiu jitsu, my stand up, because I already have this mentality that if you’re a guy that studies your opponent so much, and if something like this happens, it throws you off guard. It really throws you off guard.”
“I think you have to prepare and be ready for everything and in the last couple of weeks, of course, we started watching a couple of tapes and we saw what the guy does, but that’s only in the last couple of weeks. That’s the final part of camp. You’ve got to be prepared for everything and be ready for the change because it’s not unexpected. It happens all the time in this sport. All the time.”
“This sport is brutal,” continued Teixeira. “This sport is a hard sport. You do get injuries in this sport. More than in other sports. I just hope Latifi will be OK and we’ll see him down the line.”
Teixeira is ready to put on a show for the fans.
“It’s going to be a brawl man,” predicted Teixeira. “We’re going to get in there and fight hard. You know me, I always push the fight. I always come to fight. I don’t back up. Everybody that knows my story. They know how I fight and sometimes I lose and sometimes I win. Most of the times I win and that’s the way I fight. And I fight to finish the fight, every time. Whether it’s three rounds, five rounds, every round I’ll be there trying to finish the fight.”
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