Daniel Cormier, on his show on ESPN DC & RC, he touched on Glover Teixiera’s decision not to compete for the 205lbs belt after Jiri Prochazka vacated due to shoulder injury.
Cormier, who is the former light heavyweight and heavyweight champ said in regards to the stylistic match-ups that present Glover,
“I believe that, honestly I would do the same thing if i was glover”.
Cormier compares the decision of Glover to his own personal decisions to not fight certain guys because of the stylistic match-ups.
“When I was fighting they told me as the champ, would you fight Derrick Lewis on three weeks notice? Knowing the match-up, I said sure, Stipe Miocic, I would not have fought on three weeks notice, because its a different match up. When I had to fight Rumble Johnson for the vacant title, God rest his soul, sure, I’ll fight Rumble Johnson. When they said Dan Henderson on 6 weeks, 5 weeks– I wasn’t in camp, sure, I know the match-up”.
Was the way the double-champ put it.
DC went on to affrim his statement saying that Teixiera has fought Jan Blachowicz before and beat him, but Magomed Ankalaev is an unknown and “highly regarded” in the division.
He then doubled down on his affirmations,
“I don’t disagree with Glover if I was in the same situation with Ankalaev, too many unknowns for a guy that isn’t necessarily known to the public, who isn’t a guy that everyone recognizes as a top contender because Magomed has not been in the game long enough and not stood across the octagon from the people that make you as recognizable as you need to be”
