Michael Bisping believes Glover Teixeira made ‘the right decision’ in hanging up the gloves.
Following a dominating loss to the newly crowned king Jamahal Hill, the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion decided it was finally time to retire. Teixeira’s legendary career had come to a close after two decades, which saw him win 33 fights in total and a UFC title at 42 years old.
‘A Heavy Burden’
Bisping, a fellow retired champion, has nothing but respect for Teixeira. However, he believes Teixeira’s fight-of-the-year against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275 may have taken its toll on his performance against Hill.
“It’s the right decision,” Bisping said of Teixeira’s retirement on his YouTube channel. “The reality is he looked a little old in there, but the heart, the will, the desire that was all there. It often is in fighters, but sometimes the body starts to fail you. Maybe that back-and-forth war with Jiri Prochazka, maybe that caused him to slow down a little bit.
“Maybe he left a piece of his body, a piece of his soul, a piece of his desire left in Singapore. Perhaps, maybe not, but wars take it out of you. They take a toll and it is a heavy burden.”
‘A Beautiful End’
While Glover Teixeira didn’t regain the UFC Light Heavyweight title, Michael Bisping says it was still a remarkable end for the former champion.
“He put down the gloves. That was it, a beautiful end,” Bisping continued. “Yes, it would’ve been great if he became the champion again. But you know, not everything ends in a fairytale storybook ending. But that was still beautiful.”
