Three years ago, John Teixeira was able to make a name for himself in the MMA industry. Unfortunately, the success didn’t last long. Now, he wants to make sure that he stays at the top for good.
Teixeira was one of the cast members on the TUF: Brazil’s first season. After that, he was able to get a chance to get in the UFC. Unfortunately, he didn’t make the weight for the featherweight fight at UFC 147. Aside from this, he also lost to Hugo Viana. The promotion eventually released him after the series of unfortunate events.
However, after a 4-0-1 gig outside the UFC, Teixeira, who has a record of 18-1-2 MMA and 2-0 BMMA, joined Bellator. He will be meeting another Brazilian contender Gleristone Santos, who has a record of 27-4 MMA and 0-0 BMMA, this coming Bellator 143 event. Teixeira managed to get back-to-back wins in the promotion, but he admitted that he isn’t concerned with how he will get noticed. The important thing is he gets the exposure and time in limelight to boost his career.
“After moving to Rio and joining Nova Uniao, I’ve been growing as a fighter with each bout. I’m in Bellator, on a two-fight win streak, and I’m looking for my third victory. Gleristone is very tough and technical, but we’re working on beating him. The plan is to keep on winning until I get a shot at the championship belt,” he said.
Teixeira admitted that losing to Viana when he was still in the UFC was what drove him to move out of the city and train at Nova Unaio like the other big fighters such as Jose Aldo, the UFC featherweight champ, and Renan Barao, a former bantamweight champion.
This move has made a significant difference for him in the last few years. He also said that his mixed martial arts exposure in “TUF: Brazil 1” has helped his image as well.
“Had I won that fight, maybe I would have never moved to Rio to improve my skills. ‘TUF: Brazil’ was a great experience for me. I had barely ever traveled away from my hometown before that. I became very well known after that first season. I learned that the technical level and support structure outside my hometown were far better. … After that show, my life is much better regarding finances. It’s been easier to find sponsors. It allows me to train full-time in Rio without too much worry,” he said.
Teixeira believes that he’ll be tested one more time when goes up against 27-year old Santos. Santos has a total of 15 stoppages out of his 27 wins, which includes nine knockouts as well.
But Teixeira likes his chances, given his training partners and the things he’s been focusing on.
As tough as this opponent might look like, Teixeira tries stay positive and focused on the preparations and training.
“I’m an MMA fighter, and an employee of Bellator. Whoever they choose for me, I’ll face. Without a doubt, he also follows my career. I know he’ll give his best effort against me. He hasn’t lost since 2011. I haven’t lost since 2012. But that doesn’t impress me. He’ll be just another victory on my record. We’ve been working hard to get a win, no matter if it’s by submission, knockout or decision. I’ll showcase the work I’ve been putting in. … We’re ramping up training so everything will take place as planned. We’re putting our strategy and three months of training into practice,” Teixeira said.
Bellator 143 will be held in Hidalgo, Texas at State Farm Arena. The main card will be shown on Spike TV after the prelims on MMAjunkie.