Glover Teixeira’s Nephew Ryan aims to make his mark in the UFC. at just 25 years old, Ryan Teixeira is already chasing big dreams and a huge part of his drive comes from his uncle: former UFC light-heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira.
Growing up in Sobralia, Brazil, Ryan was inspired by watching Glover fight. As a kid, his uncle held pads for him, ran conditioning drills, and helped him build a foundation in martial arts. That early mentorship wasn’t just training, it was what made Ryan fall in love with fighting. He eventually realized that school wasn’t giving him as much fulfillment as the gym, so he focused all his energy on jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, and MMA.
“[Glover] always encouraged me ever since I was a kid,” Ryan told MMA Fighting. “He’d go to Sobralia [Brazil] and hold pads for me, run some training sessions, physical conditioning and all that. That’s how you start to get the taste for it [laughs].” “I actually liked going to school, studying and all that, but I realized that wasn’t what truly made me happy,” he continued. “When I started training jiu-jitsu more seriously, I got really into it and it gave me such a good feeling. The feeling of improving with every session, every competition I joined, every new experience. I said, ‘Man, this is what I want for my life.’ It all started with Glover, and I want to make a living out of sports.”
Glover Teixeira made UFC history in 2021 by becoming the oldest male fighter to win a first-time championship when he defeated Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight belt. Now, his nephew Ryan Teixeira hopes to follow in his footsteps and carve out his own legacy in the Octagon. The 25-year-old will make his LFA debut Friday in Mashantucket, a 90-minute drive from Teixeira’s gym in Danbury, facing off with Efraim Ko in an amateur lightweight bout. If victorious at LFA 222, he will likely turn pro in 2026. Ryan made his amateur MMA debut a few months after his uncle became UFC champion. Though his journey hasn’t been without setbacks. He’s broken both hands in past amateur fights (once before the first punch), and he’s taken losses.
After nearly a year off, enough time to understand what he was doing wrong, Ryan scored his first MMA victory with a decision in Ledyard, Conn., and picked up a few kickboxing and muay Thai wins before finally returning to MMA on Nov. 14. “I’m really confident I’ll win this fight,” Ryan said. “After this one, I’m turning pro. I’ll start the war to get to the UFC.”. Ryan predicts he will take Efraim Ko down and submit him at LFA 222, and admits he’s not wasting any time chasing the UFC dream. “[Plan is] to continue the family legacy,” Ryan said with a laugh. “To keep the name out there and make history. We do get impatient, we get anxious to be there already, but everything happens in God’s time. It’s all about putting in the work, training hard, fighting, and finishing fights quickly. I always go in there looking to finish. Most of my fights went the distance, but if you really watch them, I’m pushing forward the whole time and putting on a show. God willing, we’ll get there soon.”
What stands out about Ryan is how much he’s grown. He’s added kickboxing and Muay Thai to his game, and he trains in Danbury, a gym full of top-level fighters like Alex Pereira and Glover himself. “Man, it’s an incredible experience,” Ryan said. “‘Poatan’ is always there teaching us, and so is Glover. The team’s energy, the confidence they give us about our training, it’s on another level. ‘Poatan’ travels everywhere and he always says it’s hard to find a gym that trains like our team, and hearing that from a world champion gives us even more confidence.”
Ryan Teixeira may still be at the start of his MMA journey, but with his uncle Glover’s guidance, a world of experience to learn from, and his own determination, he’s poised to make a name for himself. One day, he hopes, the Teixeira legacy in the UFC will continue, this time with his own mark on the sport.
