Glover Teixera makes history on a stacked UFC 267 card

When it is all said and done UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi may have been one of the most historic cards in UFC’s history. The card was stacked with storylines, major title fights and career defining moments. The card even saw a referee get fired after failing to end a fight after a fighter took unanswered damage.

Perhaps, the biggest story happened in the main event where Glover Texiera made history and the true definition of never giving up on your dreams. At 42 years old, Teixeira is the oldest first-time champion in UFC history and the second-oldest fighter to win a UFC title, behind only Randy Couture. Teixeira joins Couture and Daniel Cormier as only the third UFC fighter to win a title at age 40 or older.

The cherry on top of the Sundae for Teixeira was the fact he was a +210 underdog according to Caesars Sportsbook. A highly emotional Texiera took to his mantle and delivered a powerful message at the end of the fight. "Never give up on your dreams," Teixeira said in his post fight interview. "No matter what people say, don't listen to them. They're gonna put you down. Don't listen to those negative people. Believe in yourself."

Teixeira defeated Jan Blachowicz via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:02 of the second round. His legacy in the sport is already historic. Teixeira has been a pro MMA fighter since 2002. In 2008, when it was time to get that call from the UFC, Teixeira had to leave the United States and go back to his home country of Brazil because he was living in the U.S. without legal permission. Due to visa issues, Teixeira was unable to come back to the U.S. for nearly four years and sign with the UFC. Even with his late start Teixeira (33-7) has won six straight and seven of his past eight.

The rest of the fights on the card also lived up to the billing. Petr Yan and Cory Sanhagen had a hard hitting five round affair which paved the way for Yan to be named interim bantamweight champion. Yan came into 2021 as the undisputed bantamweight champion. He appeared to be on his way to defending that title against Aljamain Sterling in March when he threw an illegal knee in the fourth round that cost him the fight and his championship. He lost via disqualification. The two were supposed to fight at UFC 267, but Sterling withdrew due to injury. The two are expected to meet in a title unification bout.

This card also served as a birthing of two new stars that fans should really acquaint themselves with. Islam Makhachev, the streaking Russian fighter dominated Dan Hooker at UFC 267 to claim his ninth-straight win. It is Makhachev’s third victory and third submission finish of 2021, making him one of the most productive fighters this year. Khamzat Chimaevhad has been pegged as the next star of the sport unfortunately after a run-in with COVID-19 the young fighter took to social media and retired. After a year layoff and recovering, Chimaev made his return. Chimaev fought the 11th ranked fighter Li Jinglaing and dominated him, even picking him up carrying over towards UFC President Dana White and talking to Dana while pummeling his opponent. It was a great showing for an overall great card.