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Following Glover Teixeira's UFC Fight Night 28 first round knockout victory over Ryan Bader the promotion wasted little time in penciling Teixeira in as the next fighter to get a shot at the promotion's light heavyweight title.
That title will be on the line in a few weeks when current champion Jon Jones looks to defend his title against Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC 165. If Jones is successful in defending his title, he will set a UFC light heavyweight record with six consecutive title defenses. Jones is currently tied with Tito Ortiz in that category with five defenses.
If Gustafsson defeats Jones, it's likely that the UFC will book an automatic rematch between the two, much in the way Anderson Silva was given an immediate shot at redemption after losing his middleweight crown to Chris Weidman.
The rematch would obviously put Teixeira in a holding pattern for his title shot. Sitting around and waiting is not something that Teixeira is interested in doing. Speaking to MMAJunkie.com, the No. 2 ranked Teixeira said:
I want to stay busy. I want to fight [Jones]. He's the bigger name, and he's been champion for a while. If Gustafsson beats this guy, I'll be happy for him, too, as long as I get to fight him. Or if they have a rematch, I'd like to fight some top contender and keep myself busy. I'm healthy, and I can't be losing time.
Teixeira may be relatively new to the UFC with five fights to his name with the promotion, but at 33-years of age he has been around the game for quite a while. Teixeira made his debut in June 2002, and has since amassed a record of 22-2. His current winning streak comes in at 20 straight victories.
Despite his high placement in the rankings, Teixeira has never defeated a top ten light heavyweight during his 5-0 run through the UFC. For that reason, it may serve Teixeira well to take a fight against an elite opponent before jumping directly into a UFC title fight.
We'll know more about Teixeira's future following the Jones versus Gustafsson bout on September 21.
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