Bellator 177's John Teixeira: 'No way' I'm denied title shot if I beat Daniel Weichel

Bellator featherweight John Teixeira can already see a title shot in the horizon.

First, of course, he needs to beat Daniel Weichel (38-9 MMA, 7-1 BMMA), whom he meets at tonight’s Bellator 177 event. But, if he’s able to get that done, Teixeira (21-1-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) said it’s his turn to break the cycle that he believes for years has revolved around current titleholder Daniel Straus, immediate title challenger Patricio Freire and ex-champ Pat Curran.

“They’re the best in our organization and are among the best in the world in our weight class,” Teixeira told MMAjunkie. “But I’ve been in Bellator for over two years. I’ve never been knocked out or submitted. My only loss was by a questionable split decision (at UFC 147, against Hugo Viana).

“I am sure that none of the three ever faced someone like me. I want to break up the hold that those three fighters have had on our weight class.”

Bellator 177 takes place at Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary. The main card airs via same-day delay on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Immediately following the MMA card, Bellator Kickboxing 6 airs on Spike at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Teixeira does have a point when it comes to his impressive streak. After suffering his sole professional loss – part of his UFC debut in 2012 – he went on to win nine professional bouts, with one draw in the middle. A “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil: 1” alum, he won his four Bellator bouts to date, most recently taking a unanimous-decision call over Justin Lawrence at December’s Bellator 167 event.

Taking his track record into account, Teixeira sees his title shot not just fair, but pretty much a no-brainer.

“After this next win, there will be no way I’ll be denied a title shot,” Teixeira said. “I already called out the champ after my last fight. I think that by beating Weichel, I will have earned my shot. I won’t have to ask again. I don’t underestimate my opponent. I’m sure he’s getting ready as hard as I. I just know I’m better prepared to be the next title challenger.”

Whom the shot would be against should Teixeira get his way, of course, is far from certain. While the reigning titleholder is Straus, that can change as soon as next Saturday’s Bellator 178 event, where Freire is set to get another stab at the belt he once held. The pair has met three times before, all of them under the promotion’s banner.

Illustrating Teixeira’s initial point about the repetitive scene atop the title picture, Curran has fought both Straus and Freire multiple times already – twice each, to be more precise. Out of all the three, Teixeira sees fellow countryman “Pitbull” as the most dangerous piece.

“If you look closely, Curran and Straus have more holes in their games than Patricio,” Teixeira said. “Patricio has good boxing, muay Thai, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. Curran has average striking and uses his wrestling to take his opponents’ backs. Straus is a lefty. His striking is better than Curran’s. But his jiu-jitsu is very weak. It’s hard to take him down, but if you do, he gets dominated on the ground more easily than Curran.”

Before any of that analysis is particularly relevant for his career, of course, Teixeira must get past Weichel – a former title challenger who, currently riding a three-fight winning streak, sees himself in the same title-ready situation as the Brazilian featherweight.

But in spite of a good evaluation of Weichel’s game, Teixeira has his reasons to believe he’ll be able to get the job done.

“Daniel Weichel is very good, with excellent jiu-jitsu,” Teixeira said. “I’m a jiu-jitsu black belt myself, though my fights lately have been mostly on the feet. He has most of his wins by submission, as do I.

“I’m confident this fight will be even better than my last. I’m working hard to be deserving of victory. I’m sure that between my level of experience and his, everything is in place for this to be a great fight. I’m confident I can beat anyone in our weight class, in any organization. If I don’t get a finish, at least you can be sure I’ll win by unanimous decision.”

For more on Bellator 177, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.