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Glover Teixeira: The UFC will trump soccer as the biggest sport in Brazil

11K views 150 replies 32 participants last post by  RangerClydeTheBlue 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
After just one fight under the UFC banner, UFC newcomer Glover Teixeira has quickly become one of the most feared fighters in the UFC's light-heavyweight division.

Teixeira (18-2) made his much anticipated UFC debut at UFC 146 against dangerous UFC veteran, Kyle Kingsbury. He made quick work of the veteran rocking him several times on the feet, before taking him down, mounting him, and submitted him with an arm triangle choke that forced a tap just two minutes into the fight.

Since then, several top contenders in the light-heavyweight division have expressed hesitancy when asked to face the Brazilian stand out at upcoming UFC events.

One of those fighters is former champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who received a lot of heat from fans when he turned down a fight against Teixeira, however, Teixeira believes that a lot of the scrutiny Shogun received was unnecessary.

"He has fought the greatest fighters out there." Glover Teixeira told MMAInterviews.tv "Shogun is a great fighter. He is a warrior; we all know this. People say something, but its a manager's decision."

Teixeira is scheduled to face off in the Octagon against fellow Brazilian Fabio Maldonado at UFC 153 on Oct. 13 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The event will air live on pay-per-view in the U.S, but is also scheduled to air live on Brazilian national TV where viewing numbers are expected to break the previous record of 50 million viewers set by UFC 142 earlier this year.

With the current explosion of MMA in the Brazilian culture, and TV ratings for UFC events reaching astronomical numbers, Teixeira believes it's only a mater of time before MMA overtakes soccer as the nations most popular sport.

"MMA has always been big," Glover Teixeira said. "But after the UFC went over there it's crazy. I never thought I would see the day where I would say this; the UFC will be bigger than soccer, and I believe its gonna be, because people are disappointed with soccer anyways. All the soccer players are doing crazy stuff over there, and not playing well. Brazil not doing very well lately in the games. People are just talking more about fighting than soccer.

"All the fans, the soccer fans when they lose or whatever, they are disappointed, they always say, 'Yeah, the time now is MMA man, because in mma we have Jose Aldo, Junior Dos Santos, Lyoto, Anderson Silva, and Minotauro.' The great fighters you know. So they always say those warriors man, those guys go over there and they don't play. Soccer is the national passion over there, but I think I'll see the day man. I want to be champion when that day comes."
Source: http://fiveknuckles.com/mma-news/Gl...soccer-as-the-number-one-sport-in-Brazil.html

I wouldn't have thought this possible just a couple years ago, but Texeira makes sense. They have so many good fighters and soccer isn't doing so well in Brazil right now. I remember Dana White saying that UFC will over take soccer worldwide too. I think it will take time, but I think it'll happen. They are going to China, India, they already have a foothold in North and South America, West and Eastern Europe and Australia.
 
#3 ·
Tex is tripping if he ever thinks the UFC will be bigger then footie.

When a bunch of lads get together on the beach or on a court somewhere they are going to play fecking football, not start punching each other in the head. The football industry might not be making the money it was... but the Brazilian people *love* football.
 
#6 ·
I wouldn't have thought this possible just a couple years ago, but Texeira makes sense. They have so many good fighters and soccer isn't doing so well in Brazil right now.
I don't know how well you follow the sport, and I thought that statement was a bit weird, but you're right in a sense. Football in Brazil, as far as it's national team goes, is at its lowest point in the last fifty years if you consider star quality, ability and recent results. Neymar is arguably the biggest talent and he seems reluctant to take the step over to Europe where you have to be to be considered a player in 2012. They are still easily top 10, borderline top 5 in the world, but Brazil is held to the highest of standards in the footballing world.

I remember Dana White saying that UFC will over take soccer worldwide too. I think it will take time, but I think it'll happen. They are going to China, India, they already have a foothold in North and South America, West and Eastern Europe and Australia.
This is where you are seriously reaching. Football may be on a downswing in Brazil, but on a global level it's never been bigger. The money is piling up, filthy rich businessmen are throwing money onto new players and stadiums, sponsors are falling over themselves to sponsor the stars. Some little chap called Lionel Messi will be called the greatest of all time when it's all said and done, and he is raking in more money off his sponsors than all the UFC champions combined. Theres never been a more exciting time to be a football fan. Football is not some has been ready to lay down and die, it grows richer and greater each passing day. My personal belief is that MMA havent got a snowballs chance in hell to overcome football on a global level.
 
#9 ·
I don't know how well you follow the sport, and I thought that statement was a bit weird, but you're right in a sense. Football in Brazil, as far as it's national team goes, is at its lowest point in the last fifty years if you consider star quality, ability and recent results. Neymar is arguably the biggest talent and he seems reluctant to take the step over to Europe where you have to be to be considered a player in 2012. They are still easily top 10, borderline top 5 in the world, but Brazil is held to the highest of standards in the footballing world.
The team they fielded in the last world cup was absolutely terrifying, even if it lacked star power. They faltered against an inferior dutch squad, but I still think they had one of the two best teams in the world at that time.

But even if they are at a low point talent-wise, I still think it's insane to think any other sport is even close in popularity to football in Brazil.
 
#8 ·
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_in_brazil

Football is taken very seriously in Brazil.[2] During the World Cup workers pause from their duties to watch their team in action;[2] even banks shut down 3 hours before matches to allow their workers time to prepare for the game.[2]

Football is the most popular sport in Brazil. Football quickly became a passion for Brazilians, who often refer to their country as "o País do Futebol" ("the country of Football"). Over 10,000 Brazilians play professionally all over the world.[9]

Football has a major effect on Brazilian Culture. It is the favourite pastime of youngsters playing football on the streets and indoor futebol de salão fields. The World Cup draws Brazilians together, with people skipping work to view the national team play, or employers setting up places for employees to watch. The General Elections are usually held in the same year as the World Cup, and critics argue that political parties try to take advantage of the nationalistic surge created by football and bring it into politics. Former Brazilian footballers are often elected to legislative positions.
 
#10 ·
To put it in perspective there are 265 million (4% of the worlds population), active football players in the world according to FIFA.

This figure does not take into account people who just enjoy a kick about with their mates in their free time.

MMA will never, ever, surpass football in terms of popularity. For the likes of South America, most of Africa and Europe football is part people's culture.

source

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/bcoffsurv/emaga_9384_10704.pdf
 
#11 ·
yeah im brazilian and i think teixeira is probably smoking the same thing vitor is....sorry guys but MMA will NEVER be as big as soccer here, its becoming a huge sport but it will never be bigger than soccer

soccer is brazil...maybe the fighters just hang around too many ppl that love fighting and they start thinking every1 is like that, here in curitiba MMA has grown a lot but many ppl still find UFC stupid or gay while pretty much 99% of the people love soccer

i ******* hate soccer...dumbass sport and its boring as hell to watch...im glad MMA is getting bigger and i would LOVE to see it pass soccer but i just know that aint happening^^
 
#12 ·
The UFC needs to stop this "We'll be bigger than Soccer" stuff.

I don't really care for Soccer, I like watching the World Cup and whatever the tournament is they play every two years, but MMA will never pass it on a global scale, but MMA could be the second most popular sport globally if they continue to have success in markets like Asia and Mexico.
 
#14 ·
Here's a better question: who gives a rat's ass which is more popular? One is a team sport while the other is a combat sport. It's apples and oranges.

I personally don't give a **** if a billion people tune in every weekend to watch soccer or football or basketball or synchronized orgasms or team dog humping. It doesn't matter. None of that - not the numbers of people watching other sports or how many competitors play the other sport - matters. None of it makes mma any less interesting or the other sport necessarily better.
 
#17 ·
I like this ---> "He has fought the greatest fighters out there." Glover Teixeira told MMAInterviews.tv "Shogun is a great fighter. He is a warrior; we all know this. People say something, but its a manager's decision."

I actually have not seen him fight yet, but I'm hearing big things. He also seems well spoken. Perhaps he will be a new threat to the division if he isn't already.
 
#20 ·
Even if MMA were somehow gaining significant ground, or football was losing support in Brazil, two things I think are highly unlikely, Brazil is going to host the world cup in 2014. That event will put to bed any pointless comparisons about the popularity of the two sports.
 
#21 ·
I liked the respect Glover shown towards Shogun. I personally feel that Shogun is one of the most under valued fighters in MMA, so it was nice to hear him say some kind words about him. Shogun is a ******* warrior.

MMA will never surpass football though, as people have already pointed out, it's more than just a sport in certain countries, it's a way of life.
 
#23 ·
100% agreed on the above. Much respect given! :thumbsup:

Glover will be a force in the division, it'll take some time but he'll make his mark.

As for the futbol vs mma... Not in our children's, children's, children's lifetime will MMA pass the worlds game. The guys that own some of these clubs are so rich they can put dents in some countries debt load. For people that aren't believers, go to somewhere like England and watch a game live... :thumb02:
 
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#27 ·
Yeah I think when you take into account that you have to "be a fighter" to even enjoy MMA, compaired to literally every kid in Europe playing football as a youngster (and Brazil has much more passion for football than we would), it will just never take over.

The only real sports MMA can be compaired to would be like kickboxing, boxing, judo, karate and other martial arts. A lot of people like to combine it with WWE, but the only reason that they are together is because WWE is genius with their marketing and are completley capitalizing on the MMA boom just like they did with boxing in the 90s. Pro wrestling will appeal to children always, while MMA is an almost exclusivley adult show.

I'm just waiting for the day that UFC takes over boxing in PPVs. Once we lose the likes of the Klitschkos, Mayweather and Pacquaio, there is a chance that guys like Jon Jones will bring MMA into a new era. We just need more modern day legends because it wont be long before we see the back of Anderson, GSP, Vitor and all the other big name legends.
 
#28 ·
UFC won't over take Boxing, personally I don't see the whole reason why anyone would want to see the UFC or anything take over Boxing. Boxing is very fun to watch, it's the politics that have ruined Boxing but there is still big, big money in Boxing, much more than in MMA.

You're also forgetting about guys like Canelo Alvarez, that guy's the future of Boxing, the lighter weights are also accepted by the Boxing world, you'll never see a 145 lb or 135 lb fighter be the biggest draw in MMA. Boxing still has the Mexican audience in the palm of it's hand, something MMA doesn't quite have. The lighter weight classes could help that though, Erik Perez is a guy that I think can reach the Mexican audience and lure them in.

Also, WWE sucks man, I hadn't watched it in years but I tuned in back in April to check out Brock, that was some of the worst stuff I've ever watched, the WWE has gone down hill so much in the last ten years it's not even funny. It used to be awesome, now it's just completely lame. They have to bring back guys like The Rock and Brock Lesnar just to sell PPV's.
 
#29 ·
When Vitor said this, I thought he was high. I'm inclined to think the same thing now Glover is saying it because football is so vast. However, I do not follow football and the amount of Brazilian kids visiting gyms nowadays is supposedly staggering.

JDS is another fighter who has said that kids, especially in dangerous areas like where he's from, are spending less time on the streets playing football, and more time in the gyms...

We'll see the products of this in ten or so years time, and compare Brazil's MMA and Football scenes then.
 
#35 ·
To put things in a perspective:

The top 5 athletes on facebook are Cristiano Ronaldo, Lio Messi, David Beckham, Michael Jordan and Kakà. Christiano Ronaldo is just short of 50 million likes. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona each have more than 30 million likes. The UFC has 9,4 million likes. The mixed martial artist with the most likes is GSP with 3,1 million.
 
#51 ·
Spurs are my favourite English team actually. Well, obviously pre-AVB with his "I should sell all the best players" strategy. Redknapp is the best English manager aswell. I just mean, they are a team that goes 1 for 1 with Champions League qualifications (along with Liverpool and Chelsea), where as a while back Ronaldo etc. would be in teams that qualify for the CL everytime uncontested.
 
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