'Against all odds': UFC fans stunned by never-before-seen moment
The UFC world was left stunned after 42-year-old Glover Teixeira became the oldest fighter to wear gold for the first time in the sport's history with a remarkable win over Jan Blachowicz.
Heading into their light heavyweight bout, many fans had Blachowicz as the overwhelming favourite after his recent victory over Israel Adesanya.
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The Brazilian, Teixeira, had just turned 42 and was most likely facing his final chance of securing an allusive belt after more than 20 years in mixed martial arts.
And in remarkable circumstances, Teixeira proved age is just a number after dominating the Polish powerhouse to earn a second round submission.
The 42-year-old dominated Blachowicz in the first round as he took him down and kept him on the ground for more than four minutes.
In the second round, the pair traded heavy hands before Teixeira landed a heavy left hook that rocked Blachowicz.
Teixeira then took Blachowicz's back and submitted him with a rear-naked choke.
The UFC community heaped praise on the 42-year-old and his remarkable fairytale story.
Glover Teixeira is the new UFC light heavyweight champion at 42 years old after submitting Jan Blachowicz in the 2nd round 👏 #UFC267
(via @ufc)pic.twitter.com/Fc7TKPtItc— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 30, 2021
GLOVER DID IT!!!
42 YEARS OLD!
HE FINALLY DID IT!
HE WINS VIA SECOND-ROUND SUB.
THE OLD MAN DID IT. WOW.— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 30, 2021
The oldest first time champion in UFC history, Glover Teixeira! Just wow!
Proper Motivation!— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 31, 2021
Glover Teixeira is like a fine wine, the older he gets the better he is.
This man is unbelievable!!!
Congratulations Champ 🏆 👏🏾 #UFC267— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) October 30, 2021
19 years old: Survives dangerous journey from Brazil to USA as illegal immigrant
32 years old: Finally makes UFC debut after visa issues
34 years old: Falls short in first UFC title shot
42 years old: Finally captures UFC gold.
Glover Teixeira's life is a fairytale. #UFC267 pic.twitter.com/cFSBcRCo94— Nisar (@nis4r) October 30, 2021
Glover Teixeira chased the belt his whole life and finally just seized the moment at 42 years old.
NEVER GIVE UP!!!!! #UFC267— Andrew Gombas Bets (@BetsandPicksMMA) October 30, 2021
Wow absolutely incredible. Against all the odds, when we all thought his hopes of a title were over, Glover Texeira puts together one last streak culminating in a world title. 42 years old. Absolutely insane. Bravo Glover. #UFC267
— 〽️agical Petro™ (@HazElsonBLBR) October 30, 2021
Glover Teixeira's remarkable fairytale UFC story
Teixeira's rise to the top is a fairytale story.
In 2014, Jon Jones dominated Teixeira in a title fight.
By 2018, he lost to Corey Anderson in Hamburg, Germany, and was looking at three losses in his last five fights.
Fast-forward to 2021 and Teixeira is king of his division.
Following the fight, the humble Brazilian went up to UFC president Dana White and said: “It’s been 20 years! Can you believe it? Twenty years!”
Teixeira will likely face the exciting and dynamic striker Jiri Prochazka in his first-title defence.
However, on the other side, the 28-year-old Blachowicz was devastated after a lacklustre display.
“This is not the end of my story,” Blachowicz said.
“My story’s not closed. I’m not a quitter. I’ll be back.”
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