Preview: UFC Fight Night 143 ‘Cejudo vs. Dillashaw’
Teixeira vs. Roberson
Light Heavyweights
Glover Teixeira (27-7) vs. Karl Roberson (7-1)Advertisement
It is odd to see Teixeira so low in the UFC’s light heavyweight rankings given that he has been a perennial contender, but it is also an accurate reflection of how age finally seems to be catching up to the 39-year old Brazilian. Visa issues kept the UFC from signing Teixeira until 2012, but once he joined the roster, he immediately rose to contender status and earned a title shot within two years. Since then, his combination of knockout power and strong grappling skills have kept him going as a gatekeeper for a few years, but his July loss to Corey Anderson was a big sign that divisional churn has finally claimed him as a casualty. Teixeira’s fundamentals are still there, but against a strong wrestler like Anderson, he never got his game going and proceeded to look athletically overmatched in every phase of the fight. The value of a win over Teixeira is diminishing, but he still has enough skills to test some up-and-coming prospects, which is how the UFC is using him here. With Ion Cutelaba dropping out on short notice, Teixeira instead faces Roberson.
Like many prospects nowadays, Roberson is basically learning on the job in the shark tank that is the UFC roster. The Jersey native actually earned his UFC contract at 205, scoring a 15-second knockout on "Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series," but since cutting down to middleweight, he's been a victim of the UFC's inconsistent matchmaking; Roberson's looked good in wins over Darren Stewart and Jack Marshman, but they sandwiched an odd bit of matchmaking where Roberson was thrown into a one-sided loss against Cezar Ferreira. There's talent there, particularly due to Roberson's kickboxing background, but "Baby K" is also firmly in the spot where he needs some matchmaking help to reach his full potential.
Teixeira should be in danger for as long as this fight is on the feet; he's been looking slower and slower, so facing a natural middleweight with some knockout power is only going to exacerbate those issues. But Teixeira should be able to rely on his wrestling game here without much trouble; beyond being the bigger fighter, Roberson's defensive wrestling has already proven to be an issue, plus his submission defense is clearly a work in progress. Much like Cutelaba would have, Roberson has a solid shot at scoring a knockout here, but the late opponent change has probably worked in Teixeira's favor; the pick is Teixeira via first-round submission.
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