John Hackleman wanted to stop the fight between his students for a long time Glover Teixeira And Jamal Hill After the fourth round UFC 283Article title. If he had been in charge of the corner, referee Mark Goddard would have listened to him and waved the action in favor of Hill.
“I know between rounds I’m aggressive,” Hackleman told MMA Fight. “I’m famous for that, maybe a little too much at times. But I thought this would be a good time to stop. I was over the corner.”
Hackleman, owner of Pitt Hawaii Kenpo Karate Academy and former light heavyweight coach of Kingpin Chuck Liddell, he said he was not the third corner like Teixeira more than moral support in Brazil. He hates corner fighters — the travel, the nerves, the dressing room, the life-or-death decisions — even though five decades of experience is a voice of reason between rounds. But six months ago, Teixeira said he made a special request: a final fight.
“It was win or lose [retired]” said Hackleman. “He’s ready. He just finished. Enough has been proven.”
UFC analysts noted Hackelman’s questioning between rounds, adding gravitas to an increasingly brutal contest on the night three contests ago. Lauren Murphy She landed 161 significant blows to her head, burning her opponent twice over. Jessica Andrade.
It was a rare sight in the sport for the audience. For Hackleman, there was nothing unusual. In the year In 2006, Cesar Gracie threw in the towel on his first big fight Frank Shamrock. At one point he said he stopped fighting while in the audience.
“I don’t like to see guys get any beatings or brain damage,” Hackleman said. “I’m very fast on the gun.”
At UFC 283, it turned out that not stopping the fight was the right call. Teixeira immediately took the action to the canvas, expected to take out Hill, and aside from a brief standoff, the final round of the championship fight was far less damaging than the first four. He did not win, but he did not suffer more cruelty.
“Thank you for not making me [stop it]” said Hackleman. “I know this doesn’t look good on anyone. It wouldn’t make a lot of people really happy, and I don’t want it to be about me. I would have thrown it after the third one. I’m glad the fight stopped there. I see no reason to continue after that.
Hackleman is well aware of the incentives to not intervene when a fighter is taking unnecessary damage. When a title is on the line, a career can hang on one decision. He doesn’t regret his decision for the time being. Kudos to Goddard for taking the consensus in Teixeira’s corner. But he thinks he will do the same thing again.
“I can’t put myself in the shoes of my wrestlers when they fight,” Hackelman said. “I wish my coaches had stopped a couple of fights earlier. They didn’t stop boxing that day, especially. I love these people. … But it doesn’t work for them either.”
Hackleman admits he can’t stop himself even if it helps the Warriors. The man he wanted to save all those years has been injured after knocking out his rival – after the referee discovered a local kickboxing instructor had cheated on him from the stand.
“I’m sure I took a lot of potential wins,” he said. “Imagine that [Jiri Prochazka’s] Corner threw in the towel in the middle of the fifth round [against Teixeira]?
as if UFC 275, Teixeira was on his way to winning his first title defense against Prochazka before the now-former champion dramatically turned the tables. Had the fight been stopped, Prochazka would not have produced a surprising fifth-round submission.
That fight and a series of world-defying tragedies set in motion a chain of events that put Prochazka in a tie with Teixeira 2 and facing Hill at UFC 283. More minutes of survival. Hill, a 2019 tournament signee, captured the vacant light heavyweight title by deciding to score the biggest win of his career.
With a little help from Hackleman, the result was the best possible result, he said. At the age of 43, Teixeira was able to fight until the last second in his dream of being released as the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Teixeira left the sport with its finances and facilities intact. The next morning, the veteran fighter was in good spirits. Even though it’s a messed up face.
“He was smiling telling everyone he was fine, even though you could tell he wasn’t,” Hackleman said. “[He said], ‘I am very good now. I love life! I love this!’ But he was speaking very little. … His mouth didn’t move much, that’s for sure.
As Teixeira steps up to fight, Hackleman steps away from his cage seat. He trains future fighters, but soon plans to hold a small ceremony at the pit. He puts the amazing mitts at the center to mark the next phase of his martial arts journey.
“That’s my last corner,” he said. “I don’t work corners anymore.”