Light heavyweight legend Glover Teixeira, Alex Pereira’s mentor, has his name in the history books as the oldest champion in UFC history. His MMA career did not take off in the way he wanted, as he lost on his debut and struggled to maintain consistency. It was a pretty long road to the title for Teixeira, but he recently revealed that he could have joined Dana White’s promotion even before Jon Jones made his way into the UFC.

Glover Teixeira recently revealed that everything changed when he started to train under fellow legend Chuck Liddell. That helped him get his career on track and maintain a winning streak. Teixeira’s career took off after he scored a massive win over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in 2006. “I went to train with Chuck Liddell. I trained for a while, but it was at that time that I started winning. I got it [a win] from a guy named [Rameau Thierry] Sokoudjou,” Alex Pereira‘s mentor stated on the Overdogs Brasil podcast. Apparently, Dana White was also present that day when he defeated ‘The African Assassin’.

Alex Pereira’s mentor reveals the reason for his UFC debut delay

Following the fight against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou would move to PRIDE FC, while Glover Teixeira was piquing the interest of Elite XC. They wanted to sign him as much as Dana White wanted to sign him. “Then he went to PRIDE… then my name started to come up a bit, but that’s where I came to teach myself with Elite XC at that time when the guys wanted to fight there,” Teixeira added. “Dana White wanted me too because Dana White was there in that Sokoudjou fight.” Jon Jones had yet to make his way into the UFC at that time, and there wasn’t a champion in the UFC who was as dominant as he went on to become later.

That sliding-doors moment could have reshaped the 205-pound division. Imagine Teixeira entering the UFC before Jones, Rashad Evans, or Lyoto Machida hit their peaks. Instead, visa issues and career decisions kept him out, forcing him to grind on smaller circuits while the division evolved without him.

So it could have been a great time for Glover Teixeira to fight in the UFC and make his name in the 205lb division. However, the UFC legend wasn’t ready to make that leap and wanted to train with Pedro Rizzo, a famed MMA coach and former fighter in Brazil, and after a few years, Teixeira embarked on a decade-long journey to become the champion in Dana White’s promotion. “I had to go to Brazil and faced a battle of three and a half years waiting for this role… I wanted to train with Pedro [Rizzo] and I started. Damn, there was a friendship, too. really humble… That’s it. Then I came back. I returned to UFC… 10 years to get the belt,” Teixeira further stated.

It has been over two years since Glover Teixeira hung up his fighting gloves, and at 45 years old, he’s transitioned pretty well into a mentorship role for Alex Pereira, as Dana White has yet to induct him into the Hall of Fame. However, the former champion did tease a return to action last year at the insistence of ‘Poatan’.

Teixeira teased a potential comeback in 2024

During an interview with MMA Fighting in October last year, Glover Teixeira caught the whole fight community’s attention when he mentioned he wants to come back. While mentioning that there were no plans made for a comeback fight, he claimed that spending time training in the gym without having to compete has become tough, so he was looking for some kind of competition.

“There’s nothing [booked], but I’ll definitely go back to competition. I keep going after challenges. It’s hard to stay [training] with no reason why, so I’ll definitely do something. I want to compete,” the former UFC light heavyweight champion said. However, the competition doesn’t have to be an MMA fight, although he’s open to it.  Glover Teixeira was open to competing in grappling matches and even wants to test his skills in boxing. “I’ll do some jiu-jitsu, I wanna do… I don’t know, maybe boxing. Or even go back for some fights in the UFC.”

Well, nothing has materialized when it comes to a comeback from Glover Teixeira, and it’s probably for the good. He’s way past the age for professional competition, but you never know. If the offer is right, maybe he comes back for at least one more fight, but maybe not in Dana White’s promotion. Regardless, let us know your thoughts on the story behind his UFC debut delay in the comments section below.