Glover Teixeira: Jon Jones would have beaten me, with or without the eye pokes

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones eye-poked Glover Teixeira in the UFC 172 main event, which took place last May in Baltimore, Maryland. UFC President Dana White blamed the champ's sizable reach.

Not that it matters.

While Teixeira admits the ocular billiards affected his vision, it did little to sway the outcome of the fight. That's because "Bones" had roughed up the challenger early and often, and there was simply no turning back.

From his conversation with MMA Junkie:

"I don't think it changed the result. It wasn't because of eye-pokes that I lost that fight. Jones won that fight. He injured my arm at the start of the fight. He deserves credit for his win. The eye-pokes did bother me because it affected my vision a bit. But either way, he would have won that fight. That's the truth."

Jones responded by turning heel and eye-poking his fans.

Teixeira (22-3) will have a chance to get back into the 205-pound title hunt with a win over Phil Davis in the UFC 179 co-main event this Saturday night (Oct. 25, 2014) in Brazil. It will be the first fight back for both men, who shared a loss at UFC 172.

Get more on that fight here.