Glover: If I don’t stop Davis’s wrestling, I lose
Glover Teixeira: “He has beaten a lot of Brazilians, but I will end this with a knockout. I trained a lot for this. I have to stop his wrestling. If I don’t stop it, I will lose.”
Former four-time Div I All American Phil Davis has beaten every Brazilian he faced in the Octagon: Lyoto Machida, Vinny Magalhaes, Wagner Prado, Rogerio Nogueira. Still, three of those four wins were by decision; Seven of Davis’s last eleven fights ended by decision. By contrast, only two of Glover Teixeira’s last eleven ended in the a decision. The pair fight Saturday on the main card of UFC 179, and Teixeira plans to end the streak.
“The only way to change this is going there and facing this,” said Teixeira to Guilherme Cruz for MMAFighting on Thursday. “He has beaten a lot of Brazilians, but I will end this with a knockout.”
“I trained a lot for this. I have to stop his wrestling. If I don’t stop it, I will lose. I’ve trained a lot for this, and I believe in my wrestling. Phil Davis moves backwards before going for a takedown. But I have a really good jiu-jitsu. There’s no way out for him.
“I always go for the knockout in every fight. There’s no such thing as ‘studying Phil Davis.’”
So UG, who do you like Saturday night?