UFC Fight Night 150: Jacare vs. Hermansson - Predictions and Picks

#4 Glover Teixeira vs. Ion Cutelaba

Ion Cutelaba is looking to break into the upper echelon of the division by beating Glover Teixeira

This Light-Heavyweight fight was supposed to go down back in January on the UFC’s first card on ESPN+, but Cutelaba had to withdraw due to an injury and Teixeira essentially squashed his replacement, the overmatched Karl Roberson, who was coming up from 185lbs for the first time in the UFC. This one looks like a far nastier fight for the Brazilian veteran, as Cutelaba definitely has the skills to take him out.

Teixeira has been in the UFC now for years – since 2012 to be exact – and essentially since his debut he’s been an upper-echelon fighter at 205lbs, even earning an unsuccessful title shot against Jon Jones in 2014.

His skills have largely remained the same over the years – he’s an excellent boxer with heavy hands, and on the ground he’s got excellent submission skills, particularly from the top position – but what’s changed recently has all to do with his age, basically.

The Brazilian remains one of the most skilled men in the division, but at 39 years old now he’s slowed down a lot. Other longtime veterans – Shogun Rua for example – have suffered more in terms of durability, an area that Teixeira still appears to be decent in, but it’s definitely the case that Teixeira is now a plodding fighter who’s more open to both being hit and being taken down.

His performance against Corey Anderson was perhaps the most worrying example of that.

That’s why I worry for him against Cutelaba. ‘The Hulk’ is a somewhat limited fighter, in that his striking defence leaves a lot to be desired and I’m not really sure how good his defence on the ground is either, but one thing is for certain about the native of Moldova – he hits incredibly hard.

2017 for instance saw him switch out the lights of Henrique da Silva in violent fashion, and when he returned from an odd USADA suspension for ‘ozone therapy’ (don’t ask!) in 2018, he did the same thing to Gadzhimurad Antigulov. This is a man, of course, who has 11 KO’s or TKO’s in his 14 wins.

Can he knock out Teixeira, then? I actually think he can. Teixeira has been finished twice in his UFC career – once by Anthony Johnson and once by Alexander Gustafsson, and that one was set up by an eye poke.

But as I noted earlier, Teixeira has slowed down a lot since then, to the point where Corey Anderson – a much less explosive fighter than Cutelaba – was able to tag him with heavy punches in their fight.

Cutelaba then might be limited, but he’s the most explosive athlete that Teixeira has faced since Johnson in 2016, and more to the point he’s an excellent wrestler, giving the noted grappler Misha Cirkunov a lot of problems in their fight a couple of years back.

If Teixeira can take him down then this is 100% a winnable fight for him – he’s still deadly from top position and could either TKO him or submit him – but I’m not sure he can muscle the Moldovan to the ground.

This is a risky pick admittedly – Teixeira is much more proven at the top level in the UFC and is still dangerous – but I just think Cutelaba is going to be too quick, too hard-hitting and too explosive for him. I think this goes quickly and ends with Teixeira unconscious.

The Pick: Cutelaba via first round KO