UFC Fight Night 73 complete fighter breakdown, Glover 'Hands of Stone' Teixeira edition

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight title contender, Glover Teixeira, will scrap with fellow knockout artist, Ovince St. Preux, this Saturday (Aug. 8, 2015) inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Though he's ranked in the Top 5 of the 205-pound division, Teixeira actually hasn't beaten that many ranked opponents. Despite that, Teixeira put forth a fairly competitive performance opposite former champion Jon Jones, proving his place near the top of the weight class.

After the loss, Teixeira was largely expected to tear through the awkward striking of Phil Davis. Instead, "Hands of Stone" was thoroughly out-wrestled and he was thrown off enough that Davis actually landed the better shots standing as well.

To remain relevant, Teixeira definitely needs this victory. Let's take a closer look at his skill set and see if he has what it takes:

Striking

With 13 knockout wins to his credit, Teixeira is a monstrous puncher. His striking game is not the most complicated, but it's been quite effective for him across most of his career, with Jon Jones being the only one to really beat him in that area.

Teixeira relies quite heavily on his right hand. Of course, when a single clean right hook can easily end the fight, it's not much of a surprise.

Stalking his opponent, Teixeira often bides his time until he can attack with the cross counter. Whenever his opponent shoots out a jab -- or even a left hook, the Brazilian isn't picky -- Teixeira will look to come over the top with a fight-finishing right.

When Teixeira's opponent is wary of the counter, he's then forced to lead. Teixeira is still focused on landing his right, but he has a few different set ups. For one, he'll attempt to use his left hand to line up his power shot, firing off jabs and the occasional left hook. For a fighter that rarely uses it, Teixeira's jab appears to actually be quite nice and could be a bigger part of his attack.

In addition, Teixeira is more than willing to lead with his right hand. He comes forward with the straight often, following up with a powerful left hook. On occasion, Teixeira will also simply just attack with alternating hooks, which is particularly effective when Teixeira's opponent is backed into the fence.

For the sake of variety, Teixeira also has a strong right uppercut in his arsenal. If he notices his opponent ducking down as he punches or rolling under Teixeira's hooks, then the Brazilian will try to time him.

It's also worth noting that Teixeira mixes strikes to the body fairly often. For the most part, Teixeira digs in to the mid-section with his left hook or straight, but he'll also throw in the occasional body job. This was most effective against Quinton Jackson, who keeps a very tight defensive guard. However, after absorbing numerous punches to the body, Jackson's hands lowered a bit, opening up plenty of head shots for Teixeira.

Because of the power in his hands, solid jawline and veteran experience, Teixeira is rather comfortable in brawls. He's certainly willing to trade, which can be risky at times. However, it also paid off big for him against Ryan Bader. Teixeira may have been shaken a bit after running into a hard left hook, but he maintained his composure. Bader, on the other hand, swung like a mad man, which in turn allowed Teixeira to shut his lights out.

It's rarely utilized, but Teixeira has a decent kicking game. After his opponent backs away from Teixeira's punches, the Brazilian will occasionally follow up with a low or high kick. It's a nice technique for Teixeira, as it allows him to punish opponents who avoid exchanges with him.

Defensively, Teixeira's willingness to trade punches is certainly a dangerous habit. Furthermore, he can be too reliant on the cross counter. For example, Teixeira throw his overhand at air multiple times at Bader, just about every time the American feinted. Then, he ran into a left hook while looking to counter the jab.

Wrestling

A solid mix of strength and agility, Teixeira is an above-average wrestler. Offensively, he's proven to be quite talented, and his takedown defense was overwhelmed by just a single fighter (an NCAA champion).

When shooting in on his opponent, Teixeira always starts with a single leg. He usually finishes by running the pipe with a dump, driving his opponent's hips down into the mat. If his opponent keeps his balance, Teixeira will switch directions and drive through him with a double. Between his dump and double leg chain finishes, Teixeira is able to take down most any fighter the division.

Of all his UFC opponents, Teixeira most relied on his wrestling against Jackson, dragging "Rampage" to the mat with each of these takedowns. It's also worth noting that Teixeira briefly managed to put Bader on his back, which is quite an accomplishment.

Once he takes down his opponent, Teixeira is capable of finishing the fight with brutal ground strikes. An active guard passer, the Brazilian looks to move into at least half guard before opening up. Once in a controlling position, Teixeira will posture up above his opponent and throw heavy strikes.

If Teixeira can secure a mount, the fight is basically over. He climbs very high on his opponent's hips, limiting his ability to bridge and shake the Brazilian off of him. In addition, his tight hips prevent elbow escapes while allowing him to posture. From there, he starts to hammer away with punches and elbows. In the UFC, Teixeira's continual punishment from the mount position -- and most others -- eventually forced the referee to call off the tremendously violent beating of Fabio Maldonado.

Prior to his bout with Davis, Teixeira had successfully shut down each of his opponents' attempts to bring the fight to the mat. In fact, he stuffed plenty of Davis' shots too. However, a few key errors mid-fight allowed Davis to routinely gain top position and control.

Though Davis rarely finished his initial shot, he found plenty of success transitioning into the back clinch, where he could weigh on Teixeira and drag him to the mat. Teixeira made this easier for Davis by swinging wildly, allowing him to duck under and move toward the back easily.

Additionally, Teixeira jumped on the guillotine choke numerous times. It's hard to blame him for doing it once, as he's finished fights with it, but Teixeira hopped on the submission repeatedly without ever coming close.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

A second degree black belt, Teixeira has shown some very dangerous jiu-jitsu in his brief forays on the mat. He's secured six submissions wins without ever being tapped himself in a lengthy career, which says good things about his overall game.

All of Teixeira's submission victories are some form of choke, usually from top position. He has a couple of rear-naked chokes wins, which is fitting considering his excellent hip pressure from dominant spots.

Teixeira's hip control from mount is also a large reason that he is effective with the arm triangle choke. As his opponent squirms and bucks, Teixeira remains unmoved and still able to land punches. This causes further panic, and Teixeira can take advantages of opportunities that are bound to open up.

This was perfectly illustrated in his submission win over Kyle Kingsbury. Kingsbury is an exceptionally strong athlete, but his desperate attempts to bump or turnover did very little. Normally, a man the size of Kingsbury can always create space if he really freaks out, but instead all that expended energy had no payoff. Stuck halfway into a bump, "Kingsbu's" arm was left in a dangerous position. Teixeira simply latched on and squeezed, quickly finishing the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA)-trained product.

It also seems likely that Teixeira has a very powerful squeeze. Every time he has secured a grip onto an opponent's neck, he's managed to quickly earn a tap. For example, Teixeira controlled a front headlock as James Te Huna tried to stand up following a takedown. Te Huna, also a fairly large Light Heavyweight, couldn't get his head out and was dragged back to the mat without much difficulty.

From there, Teixeira decided to jump guard. He made things easier for himself by trapping one of Te Huna's arms with his legs, allowing the New Zealand native only a single arm to defend himself with. He then sat up into the arm-in choke, properly cutting off blood flow. Barely able to defend against the mountain of muscle wrenching on his neck, Te Huna had little choice but to submit.

Best Chance For Success

On paper, Teixeira should be at an advantage everywhere. He's the more experienced and more powerful striker, and his ground game is far superior.

That said, Teixeira could easily throw all that away by brawling with his opponent. "OSP" has a very long reach and is really refining his counter striking; therefore, any sloppy combinations could get Teixeira hurt badly.

To avoid getting clipped, Teixeira should do his best to stay measured with his pressure boxing. Once he has an opportunity, Teixeira should also look for his usual single leg chain, as St. Preux has struggled with top control specialists in the past. Unlike Bader and Cummins, Teixeira doesn't need multiple takedowns to win a fight, as just a couple minutes underneath the Brazilian bruiser has caused plenty of fighters to fold.

Will Glover Teixeira remind the division where he stands or will Ovince St. Preux continue his climb to the top?