Glover Teixeira explains the pros and cons of open scoring in MMA

Glover Teixeira has weighed in on the recent open-scoring debate in MMA. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Teixeira addressed the topic that has long been at the forefront due to controversial MMA scorecards such as that of the recent Holly Holm vs. Ketlen Vieira fight.

Helwani reiterated that he’d like open scoring in MMA, so that the fighters and cornerpersons know whether they’re winning or losing on the judges’ scorecards. Teixeira seemingly agreed and stated:

“It’s good, man. Of course, for the coaches, for everybody, it’s good because a lot of times, I’m in the corner too. And even with Alex Pereira’s last fight. His foot was hurt and he looked at me and he say, ‘Hey, you think if I keep this pace, it’s good?’ And I didn’t know. I was like, ‘No, man. Just go in there and give it all. Give your all. Take this guy out of there.’”

Teixeira indicated that upon receiving his advice, Pereira went all out against his opponent Bruno Silva and won via unanimous decision. Teixeira said:

“You’re gonna say, ‘Yeah, this pace is good. You’re winning.’ But when you know for sure, ‘Hey, man. You’re two rounds above. Just don’t get knocked out.’ But I don’t think it’s going to be as exciting. Maybe. Who knows, man?”

Teixeira insinuated that being aware of the scores might make the winning fighter perform more cautiously and coast to a win, whereas the losing fighter could perhaps accept defeat and just fight to survive. He believes that this could make the fights less exciting.

Furthermore, Teixeira recalled his own fifth-round KO loss against Alexander Gustafsson. Teixeira revealed that he was knocked out because his coach told him he was down on the scorecards and needed to go all out and finish ‘The Mauler.’ This resulted in him taking risks, only to get countered and finished by Gustafsson.

Watch Glover Teixeira’s conversation with Ariel Helwani in the video below:

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Anthony Smith on wanting to fight Glover Teixeira rather than Jiri Prochazka for UFC gold

UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira is set to defend his belt against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275 on June 11. Anthony Smith, who’d lost to Teixeira via fifth-round TKO in 2020, recently explained why he’d rather take the belt off Teixeira than Prochazka.

On the Believe You Me podcast, 'Lionheart' noted that win or lose, Prochazka makes his opponents look bad. Of Prochazka’s 28 MMA victories, 25 have come via KO/TKO, two via submission, and just one via decision. Smith alluded to this and opined that the Czech fighter is an incredibly tough opponent to face and insinuated that he'd love to avenge his loss to Glover Teixeira. He said:

“I know what I'm getting myself into with Glover so there's no real surprises. Jiri is very unpredictable."