Glover Teixeira Wants Gustafsson Boxing Rematch After Beating Shogun Rua

Glover Teixeira turned his boxing debut into a statement Saturday night in Sao Paulo, outpointing Mauricio "Shogun" Rua over eight rounds in the Spaten Fight Night 3 heavyweight main event. He dropped Rua in the third and hurt him repeatedly, but couldn't put the old rival away — and now he's already circling his next target.

That target is Alexander Gustafsson, the Swede who knocked Teixeira out in the fifth round of their 2017 UFC light heavyweight bout. Gustafsson's camp told reporters before the card they wanted the winner of Teixeira-Rua under boxing rules, and Teixeira didn't hesitate. He said he's one hundred percent on board, ideally in 2027, adding that any fight that makes sense is a fight he'll take.

For a 33-9 MMA veteran with 18 knockouts and 10 submissions on his ledger, the switch to gloves-and-ropes was always going to come with rust. Teixeira admitted as much, saying three and a half years out of competition showed at times and that he tried too hard early looking for the finish. His power, he noted, slowed as the rounds wore on, so he paced himself down the stretch.

Shogun's Chin Held Up

Rua ate everything Teixeira had and refused to fold, which surprised even a man who's known him for years. Teixeira figured the knockdown in round three meant a stoppage was coming by the sixth. It never did. He credited Rua's toughness and heart, calling it incredible even as he pushed too hard chasing the KO he thought was there.

Defensively, Teixeira liked what he saw from himself. He said Rua's punches weren't hurting him, though one shot did remind him the former UFC champion still has something left. Nothing rattled him enough to worry, and he framed the whole night around one goal: a clean, controlled performance in a discipline he's brand new to.

The Gustafsson Angle

The revenge storyline writes itself. Gustafsson's 2017 win over Teixeira teed up his second crack at Jon Jones and the light heavyweight belt, so this would be Teixeira collecting on nearly a decade of unfinished business — this time on his terms. Teixeira half-joked pre-fight that he wanted easier opponents after Rua, but he conceded that more MMA-veteran matchups are realistic after this showing.

He's not committing to anything beyond staying in the gym and seeing what materializes. If he lands a fight in the next six months, he reckons he'll be sharper than he was against Rua. The rust, he expects, won't be an issue much longer.