Glover Teixeira: 'It would be a joke if the winner of this fight didn't get a title shot.'
Not very many people call out Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, but Glover Teixeira isn't like most people.
The veteran Brazilian contender runs towards the toughest challenges and he had no fear asking for a fight against Johnson because he knew a win over the prolific knockout striker would assure him a second shot at UFC gold.
"This is the fight I wanted. I asked for Anthony Johnson because a fight with Anthony Johnson made sense. That's the fight I need to get a title shot," Teixeira told FOX Sports. "I wanted to fight so I could get a title shot. Of course if you would have asked me, I would have asked for Cormier in the first place but I'm one of the guys that hate people in the UFC who are like No. 6 or No. 8 in line and they ask for a title shot already.
"I was respectful. I asked for Anthony Johnson because that's the fight that would make me the No. 1 contender."
Teixeira has battled for UFC gold previously and that's part of the motivation that fuels him going into his upcoming fight on Saturday night.
In that title fight, Teixeira lost a decision to Jon Jones but now riding a three-fight win streak into UFC 202, including wins over Ovince Saint-Preux, Patrick Cummins and former champion Rashad Evans. He knows a second shot at the championship should be just one victory away.
"No doubt about that. This is the fight. I'm not even going to say Daniel Cormier's name because I don't need to say it," Teixeira said.
Current light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has intimated numerous times that he's targeting the winner of the fight between Johnson and Teixeira for his next fight regardless of the status of interim champion Jon Jones while he deals with a drug testing infraction from June.
According to both Jones and UFC president Dana White, the embattled light heavyweight may be able to return to action much sooner than originally expected, but there's still no word on when he'll actually be able to fight again.
Teixeira didn't take pot shots at Jones while he was down and out recently following the positive drug test revelation, but he still believes that he'll have to get in line behind the winner of the UFC 202 co-main event in the championship pecking order.
"It's sad. It's a shame. Jon Jones is a great fighter, he could be one of the greatest of all times and to do something like that. The things that happen with him. He went to rehab before and then he got caught right before the fight, it's sad. It's a shame. He's so young. He has everything to be great and he is a great fighter, but I think it's very immature decisions," Teixeira said.
"I am focused on Anthony Johnson right now. That's the guy I have to beat. After that, there's another story with Cormier. I have to fight Cormier for the title. We'll see Jon Jones again. He'll be back again and hopefully he puts his head on straight and he comes back."
Teixeira would love the chance to avenge his previous loss to Jones at some point down the road just like he would enjoy wrestling the title away from Cormier after he's done at UFC 202, but there's still a tall test ahead of him this weekend before any of that can happen.
Johnson is arguably the hardest hitting fighter on the entire UFC roster with knockout power in his hands and feet and rarely does he even need to connect flush to do the kind of damage that will put most opponents away.
Teixeira isn't oblivious to the kind of pop Johnson packs in his strikes, but he cautions anointing him the knockout king because he believes almost every top fighter at 205-pounds possesses that kind of one shot finishing power.
Luckily, Teixeira has faced a laundry list of knockout strikers in the past, and he looks forward to adding Johnson's name to his resume of victories against them.
"To tell you the truth, he is a very powerful striker but in the light heavyweight division, most of the guys that you fight like Rashad (Evans) or Ryan Bader, they have power in the hands," Teixeira said.
"Anthony Johnson comes and he comes very aggressive and that's what I have to avoid. I have to pressure him and not let him impose his game."
