Glover Teixeira Plans to Be More Patient Against Misha Cirkunov

Glover Teixeira spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of his fight with Misha Cirkunov at UFC on FOX 26 this weekend. Highlights are below:

On keeping his fight style the same against Cirkunov: “I’m still going to be Glover. I’m still going to be that guy that comes after you with a Mike Tyson style to finish a fight. But I’m just going to take my time a little more. I’ve been working a lot on my timing (and) the right time to throw combinations.”

On his reason for slowing down: “I used to come forward and try to knock everybody out. But it’s time to study the game a little more…I’ve just got to adjust my game and adjust the situations. I don’t know what’s going on. I know I’m always training hard and always looking to finish fights. Maybe I’m too anxious. I’ve got to slow down a little bit. That’s why I’ve been working on my footwork a lot more with this fight. Footwork and timing, because I think that’s very important for the fights, especially after you’ve been in the game for a while. They start capitalizing with your game.”

On pushing for a title shot: “I can’t change the past, so I’m going to try to change the future. I’m going to try and make this happen. I still have a lot of fights in me. I still am in love with the sport. I love to train. I’m in very good shape right now, and I’m just learning and enjoying myself as a fighter. I want to become a champion. I’m right there; I’m No. 3 in the world (in the UFC rankings). I need to beat Cirkunov and get onto the title radar again.”