{"id":5057217,"date":"2021-11-19T10:35:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T15:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/?p=5057217"},"modified":"2021-11-19T10:35:35","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T15:35:35","slug":"ufc-champion-glover-teixeira-never-give-up-on-your-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2021\/11\/19\/ufc-champion-glover-teixeira-never-give-up-on-your-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC Champion Glover Teixeira: \u201cNever give up on your dreams\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saturday, October 30<sup>th<\/sup>, marked the day that Glover Teixeira will never forget. The 42-year-old UFC fighter grabbed the&nbsp;UFC light heavyweight title-winning belt&nbsp;after a rear-naked choke submission move from rival Jan&nbsp;Lachowicz. This victory makes him the oldest first-time champion in UFC history and the second-oldest fighter to win a UFC title.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the postfight interview, Teixeira said, \u201cNever give up on your dreams. No matter what people say, don&#8217;t listen to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his list of \u201cthank you\u2019s\u201d, the champ also included Danbury for their support: \u201cI want to thank my city&nbsp;Sobralia, (Minas Gerais, Brazil), my family, Danbury, Connecticut, my gym&#8230;They&#8217;re all excited over there. You know I&#8217;m coming home with the belt baby! I told you&nbsp;guys;&nbsp;I&#8217;m coming home with the belt.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Danbury Hosts Parade for UFC Champ<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/77B56D8C-D3BA-4E35-81B7-C9EAF99B2DD1-1012x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"5057228\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/77B56D8C-D3BA-4E35-81B7-C9EAF99B2DD1-scaled.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/?attachment_id=5057228\" class=\"wp-image-5057228\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Local families get together for the parade for UFC fighter Glover Teixeira.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/83F14F00-7FEA-4990-8A66-C51789A1D3AF-1024x958.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"5057229\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/83F14F00-7FEA-4990-8A66-C51789A1D3AF-scaled.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/?attachment_id=5057229\" class=\"wp-image-5057229\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Sandy Hook residents Carole Bishop and Heather Thomas get ready for the parade in their UFC gear and signs.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/16480A5D-D890-4125-9B2F-C9417CAE8337-1024x681.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"5057230\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/16480A5D-D890-4125-9B2F-C9417CAE8337.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/?attachment_id=5057230\" class=\"wp-image-5057230\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Fernely Feliz Sr. speaks to the crowd about how he first met Glover Teixeira and how proud he is of him.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/95738E19-D73D-47A2-ABC4-43D467886BAA-1024x681.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"5057227\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/95738E19-D73D-47A2-ABC4-43D467886BAA.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/?attachment_id=5057227\" class=\"wp-image-5057227\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">UFC champion Glover Teixeira rides down in a float with his belt celebrating his victory down Main Street Danbury&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption\">Photos by Nicole Zappone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They celebrated Teixeira on November 14 in Danbury. <\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Newly elected Mayor Dean Esposito, along with current Mayor Joseph Cavo&nbsp;joined Hat City residents for a parade down Main Street and ending at the soccer fields of Rogers Park.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Teixeira was gifted with a plaque commemorating his victory and a key to the city to the cheers of fight fans of all ages; some with signs showing their support.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the ceremony, Teixeira shared how he got his start, training in Danbury. He recalled how he was out&nbsp;running when&nbsp;he came across&nbsp;Fernely&nbsp;Feliz&nbsp;Sr. He had seen&nbsp;Feliz&nbsp;and wanted to know if he could train with him as it was his aspiration to become more successful here in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI went up to him and I was like, I want to train with you; when can we start,\u201d said Teixeira.&nbsp;Feliz&nbsp;had told him that they could start at 5 p.m. the next afternoon. \u201cI work at that time, could we do it in the morning,\u201d asked Teixeira. The next day at 5 a.m. the two began their training and the rest is history.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/685F9746-C4E3-4DA7-8F30-16CC65923DDB-562x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"5057231\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/685F9746-C4E3-4DA7-8F30-16CC65923DDB-scaled.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/?attachment_id=5057231\" class=\"wp-image-5057231\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">UFC Champion Glover Teixeira shows off his champion belt, along with the key to the City of Danbury that was presented to him by Mayor Joseph M. Cavo.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1052FDB0-2EDC-40F0-823F-7CF3F32274DF-1024x664.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"5057232\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1052FDB0-2EDC-40F0-823F-7CF3F32274DF-scaled.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/?attachment_id=5057232\" class=\"wp-image-5057232\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Glover took a group photo with Danbury Mayor Joe Cavo, Liz Cavo, Danbury Mayor Elect Dean Esposito and others.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption\">Photos by Nicole Zappone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Who is Glover Teixeira<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Teixeira&nbsp;was born and brought up in&nbsp;Sobralia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He moved to the United States in 1999&nbsp;as a 19-year-old and stayed in Danbury, Connecticut.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He immediately got a job as a landscaper mowing lawns, trimming bushes, moving logs, and lifting rocks. In time, he went from gardening gloves to MMA gloves.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His story&nbsp;is,&nbsp;however, not a&nbsp;fairy tale on how he became a U.S. citizen. When Teixeira came to the United States, he did so illegally. Even though he was married to a U.S. citizen (who&nbsp;he met in 2000), Teixeira couldn\u2019t return to the United States from Brazil until 4 years later.&nbsp;He was never deported. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGlover had returned to Brazil voluntarily to get his papers in order,\u201d says his&nbsp;wife,&nbsp;Ingrid. \u201cThere was a lot of red tape and bureaucracy during this time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All Ingrid Teixeira wanted was to get her husband back. During this waiting time, Glover lost his prime years in fighting while waiting for his paperwork&nbsp;to&nbsp;become a U.S. citizen.&nbsp;He was known as a legend all around the world, but just couldn\u2019t fight in the United States yet. He wanted to become a citizen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lawyers kept telling Ingrid that Glover would be back soon. It wasn\u2019t until November 2020, that he finally became a United States citizen.&nbsp;It was proudly celebrated on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/38544C50-F69F-48E8-80FB-64278C795B6E-1024x735.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"5057224\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/38544C50-F69F-48E8-80FB-64278C795B6E.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/?attachment_id=5057224\" class=\"wp-image-5057224\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/5BDA901A-872D-4080-B694-EB88BA0C18C0-1024x711.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"5057225\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/5BDA901A-872D-4080-B694-EB88BA0C18C0.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/?attachment_id=5057225\" class=\"wp-image-5057225\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption\">Photo Credit: gloverteixeira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIm&nbsp;so proud today because I\u2019m officially an American Citizen&nbsp;\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8&nbsp;Now I\u2019m very proud to represent both Brazil &amp; America.\u201d Teixeira wrote on Instagram in English and his native Portuguese.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe loves being a U.S. citizen because it is truly the land of opportunity,\u201d says wife, Ingrid.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2A81EB03-57B8-4B94-8C22-70ADE3E0F9B2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5057222\" \/><figcaption>Glover Teixeira with students at Teixeira MMA &amp; Fitness, (Photo Credit: Glover Teixeira)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After naming Danbury his home, Glover\u2019s second home is in Bethel&nbsp;at his gym <a href=\"https:\/\/teixeirammaandfitness.com\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/teixeirammaandfitness.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Teixeira MMA &amp; Fitness<\/a> located on 32 Stony Hill Road.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The gym is a Mixed Martial Arts school serves all ages and abilities as a fitness gym, personal training, fight team, and professional MA training camp as described on their website.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Teixeira\u2019s wife Ingrid couldn\u2019t be&nbsp;more proud. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing and what dreams are made of. Still in awe really, but excited,\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saturday, October 30th, marked the day that Glover Teixeira will never forget. The 42-year-old UFC fighter grabbed the&nbsp;UFC light heavyweight [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5057240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[597],"tags":[674,675,676,677],"ppma_author":[673],"class_list":["post-5057217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-danbury","tag-glover-teixeira","tag-mixed-martial-arts","tag-ufc"],"acf":[],"mb":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/11\/D24057A5-1EBE-42C8-A247-A4AC8782C1E0.jpeg",1200,832,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/11\/D24057A5-1EBE-42C8-A247-A4AC8782C1E0-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/11\/D24057A5-1EBE-42C8-A247-A4AC8782C1E0-300x208.jpeg",300,208,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/11\/D24057A5-1EBE-42C8-A247-A4AC8782C1E0-768x532.jpeg",768,532,true],"large":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/11\/D24057A5-1EBE-42C8-A247-A4AC8782C1E0-1024x710.jpeg",1024,710,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/11\/D24057A5-1EBE-42C8-A247-A4AC8782C1E0.jpeg",1200,832,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/11\/D24057A5-1EBE-42C8-A247-A4AC8782C1E0.jpeg",1200,832,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"LNN","author_link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/author\/jermainesmith\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Saturday, October 30th, marked the day that Glover Teixeira will never forget. The 42-year-old UFC fighter grabbed the&nbsp;UFC light heavyweight [&hellip;]","authors":[{"term_id":673,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"nicole-zappone","display_name":"Nicole Zappone","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"mfb_rest_fields":["title","uagb_featured_image_src","uagb_author_info","uagb_comment_info","uagb_excerpt","authors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5057217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5057217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5057217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5057240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5057217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5057217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5057217"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5057217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}