Teixeira: Johnson hardest puncher I ever fought

Top UFC light heavyweight Glover Teixeira spoke recently with Brazil’s AG Fight, about the strongest guy he ever fought. The answer was Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, who knocked him out in 13 seconds at UFC 202 on August 20.

“How many times have you seen someone knock somebody out in 13 seconds? I know about my potential and I wasn’t there to prove anything to anyone,” said Teixeira, as translated by Lucas Rezende for BE. “Jiu-jitsu is my strong suit, but I trust my wrestling and my striking. I know about my potential, but I didn’t have time.

“The fight starts standing, so you have to strike. It’s just like what they told Aldo when he lost to McGregor. There was no time to react, it happens. To be honest, he was the strongest guy to ever hit me. It was the first KO I ever suffered. I had been knocked down in training before where my vision went dark for a little bit, but never like that. He hits too hard and the gloves are very small. Depending on how it hits you, it’s over.”

At the time, Teixeira was on a three-fight win streak. They were all finishes, over Ovince Saint Preux, Patrick Cummins, and Rashad Evans, and earned a fight of the night and performance of the night. Teixeira has no fight scheduled at present.

The win put Johnson on a three-fight win streak, all finishes, over Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader, and Teixeira, earning three performance of the night bonuses in a row. Johnson fights light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 206 on December 10, 2016, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.