Glover Teixeira would love title shot next, but Manuwa in London? 'Take it easy'

WINNIPEG – There are a few schools of thought out there for who Glover Teixeira should fight next.

Teixeira tends to carry the attitude that he’ll fight anyone the UFC and his manager say he should fight. And then there’s the Teixeira who thinks, sure, it’d be great if that person was the light heavyweight champ.

Still a third concept comes in the form of suitors like [autotag]Jimi Manuwa who are looking for a booking and see Teixeira as a way to get back to contention.

Teixeira (27-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) on Saturday opened the UFC on FOX 26 main card with a first-round TKO of Misha Cirkunov (13-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC). And afterward, he had a few friendly words for 205-pound champion Daniel Cormier (19-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who next will meet Volkan Oezdemir (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in the UFC 220 co-main event.

If Cormier holds onto his title in January and fights Teixeira next, great. If it’s Oezdemir, OK. But Manuwa (17-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC), who took to Twitter to tell Teixeira the two should fight in London, his home city, in March?

“Of course Jimi Manuwa wants to do that,” Teixeira said after his win. “He lost his last fight. I lost my fight before this, and I fought a guy with a loss – down in the rankings. So I’m risking a lot of things, but I lost the fight so I had to get back winning. Right now, I’m third in the world, so I don’t know. If that makes sense for the UFC, if my manager says it’s right, then we’ll do it. I’ll fight anyone, anywhere.

“But is Jimi Manuwa in position right now to want to fight me in London? Why doesn’t he come to Brazil and fight me? Or Connecticut? Or New York? I don’t know. That’s where I’m from. He’s going to fight in his backyard, and I’m going to have to go go fly to London to fight him? Nothing against London, but c’mon, man – give me some credit over here. It’d (be like) me calling (out) Cormier right after my last loss. Take it easy.”

UFC on FOX 26 took place Saturday at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The main card aired on FOX following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Manuwa is coming off a loss to Oezdemir, which snapped a two-fight knockout streak. Oezdemir earned a shot at Cormier with the win. Before he pulled off the mild upset of Cirkunov on Saturday, Teixeira lost to Alexander Gustafsson in Sweden in May by fifth-round knockout.

Does he think a win over Cirkunov is enough to get him back into the title picture again? He had a shot at then-champ Jon Jones at UFC 172 and lost a decision. He’s gone 5-3 in the nearly four years since then. If nothing else, Cormier seems amenable to it if he beats Oezdemir.

“With Cormier, I joked with him (Friday): ‘When are we gonna brawl, bro? You have a great style, we both come forward,'” Teixeira said. “He said, ‘You win this fight in spectacular (fashion), man, I’ll hold my title Jan. 20, then you’ve got (a shot).’ I know it’s not up to us, but that’s what I told him. … If he wants it and I want it, I know the fans want it. C’mon, Dana White. I know he’s got to do it.

“Whatever the UFC wants me to do … I’m here to fight. If (my manager) says it’s a good idea, that’s what we’ll do. I’m not here to wait for a title shot. Of course I’d love to have a title shot. Everyone wants to have a title shot. But my job is to fight. If I’m healthy, I will fight – I’ll fight anyone.”

Anyone – but maybe if you’re coming off a loss and want to fight Teixeira in your own backyard, expect him to throw just a little shade.

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 26, check out the UFC Events section of the site.