Monday Morning Hangover: What’s next for Glover Teixeira following KO loss at UFC Stockholm?

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 109 blew the roof off Ericsson Globe Arena last Sunday night (May 28, 2017) in Stockholm, Sweden.

For full play-by-play updates and results for UFC Fight Night 109 click here.

Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Misha Cirkunov, who was knocked out in just 28 seconds in the co-main event of the evening by Volkan Oezdemir (full video highlights here). And Ben Saunders, who was wiped out by Peter Sobotta in the second stanza of their welterweight scrap (see it again here).

But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?

Glover Teixeira.

Going into his Light Heavyweight showdown against Alexander Gustafsson, Teixeira knew the only way he would be getting his second shot at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) gold is if he notched a win over “The Mauler” and surpassed him for the No. 1 ranking.

Not happening.

Glover ran into an ever-improved and rejuvenated Gustafsson, who unleashed a striking attack that he hadn’t quite shown during his UFC career. On several occasions, Teixeira found himself on the wrong end of clean combinations that floored him. If he didn’t taste the canvas, he sure tasted “The Mauler’s” gloves, and his own blood, after Alex busted “Hands of Stone” open.

Despite getting outclassed on the feet, Teixeira never wavered and never stopped coming forward, even egging the towering Swede to keep hitting him with his best shots. Perhaps it was all a part of his plan to try and get Alex to stand-and-bang with him in the center of a cage in an all-out slugfest.

Gustafsson, however, wasn’t having it, as he was intent on sticking and moving, though some weren’t too crazy about his “running” tactics inside the cage.

“Glover is a strong and heavy fighter, so he’s not that fast. I knew I had to, I can’t stand and trade with him, I would lose that battle. I have to move, I have to pick points and keep him frustrated,” said Alex during his interview with UFC on FOX backstage.

In the end, Glover fell victim to Gustafsson’s four-punch combo that put the hard-hitting Brazilian out for the count (watch it). That said, despite the loss, not enough can be said about Glover’s toughness.

Some may say he’s too tough for his own good.

Teixeira took “The Mauler’s” shots and kept on ticking up until the final frame. The loss is Teixeira’s second brutal knockout defeat in the last year, losing to Anthony Johnson at UFC 202 last August in just 13 seconds.

Where he goes from here, it’s hard to say, as the Light Heavyweight division has plenty of old vets still in the mix with young contenders on the rise, as well, that could be good tests for Glover.

That said, I’d like to see him face Ilir Latifi next.

Latifi is also coming off a loss, losing to Ryan Bader almost eight months ago. And since his dance card is currently empty due to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira’s recent injury, it’s a matchup I wouldn’t mind seeing.

It’s better than the alternative.