Kyle Kingsbury: Glover Teixeira Is Best Light Heavyweight Not in UFC

“He is, without question, the best light heavyweight not in the UFC,” Kingsbury recently told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show.”

Of course, technically Teixeira is in the UFC now, and his debut is set for May 26 at UFC 146 -- against Kingsbury.

“Obviously, if you’re involved with the sport, you’ve heard of the name Glover Teixeira,” Kingsbury said. “I’ve heard a lot about him just because I did a couple of camps with Chuck [Liddell]. ... I became close with Chuck and John Hackleman and the whole family there at The Pit in [San Luis Obispo, Calif.], and they’d always tell me stories about Glover and what a great guy he is, how talented he is. It stinks having to fight him.”

Teixeira (Pictured) used to train with Liddell. A winner of 15 straight fights, he likely would have debuted in the UFC much earlier if not for visa issues that kept him in Brazil.

“In terms of people asking me, ‘What do you think of the guy? He’s just coming into the UFC. It’s his first fight in the UFC, and he hasn’t fought anybody at your level.’ I’m like, yeah, that might be true, but at the same time, I know what he’s worth,” Kingsbury said. “I’m taking him as serious as I’ve ever taken an opponent in my life.”

Kingsbury has been preparing for the bout at American Kickboxing Academy alongside former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, Strikeforce grand prix finalist Daniel Cormier and Mike Kyle.

“All four of us are all pushing it in high gear, training with each other, sparring, wrestling, grappling, doing the whole nine together,” Kingsbury said. “You have such high-level guys that are big bodies, and that to me is the rarest thing. You can go to other camps and find big guys to train with, but to find guys that are that high-level and have the size to match, it’s a rare thing.”

After getting outwrestled and controlled on the ground in a November loss to Stephan Bonnar, Kingsbury has been working with Cormier in particular. The former Olympic wrestler has helped Kingsbury’s ability to stay on his feet, which is where he wants to fight Teixeira.

“This camp has been more with Cormier just because we really feel -- without giving away too much information -- after the way I lost my last fight, we think there’s obviously a blueprint that’s been laid out for how to beat me,” Kingsbury said. “I think Glover’s a smart guy. He’s going to try to take it to the ground and use that black belt.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:29:40).