VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Brazilian light heavyweight veteran Glover Teixeira became the first man to take Nikita Krylov the distance, earning a split-decision win over the Ukrainian contender before admitting that he was suitably impressed by his opponent’s skills.

Speaking to reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage at Rogers Arena, Teixeira (30-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) paid tribute to Krylov (26-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC), saying “The guy was tough, man. I was very surprised how he got out of the submission I got him in. I got him in a tight guillotine, and I heard his arm pop when I got him in an armbar, but he kept fighting and he got out of some crazy submissions. I was very impressed, and very surprised, to be honest.”

Teixeira said he believed he’d done more than enough to earn the nod from the judges but admitted that there is always an element of doubt when the fight goes to the scorecards.

“It’s not in my control,” he admitted. “My job is to go in there and do what I do, throw the punches. Every punch I throw is meant to knock people out. My submissions were there: I went for the armbar, felt the arm pop. I felt the guillotine. … I tried to finish the fight. No regrets. I went in there and tried to do what I do – try to finish the fight and take him out of there.

“The judges’ decision? That’s what happens, you know? I don’t really care. To be honest, I was like ‘Hey, it is what it is.’ You leave it to a judges’ decision, who knows what’s going to happen.”

After securing victory, Teixeira joked that he would tuck into a feast inspired by the press conference words of lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, as he paraphrased the 155-pound kingpin when describing his post-fight plans.

“Right now I just want to go home,” he said. “I’m gonna say like Khabib, I’m going to eat a big cheeseburger and a steak, then see what’s going on. I don’t choose opponents, but I’d like to fight top-5 in the weight class to get myself in there and line up for the title. (I’m) taking nothing from these guys. This kid (Krylov), he’s tough, he’s 27 years old, he’s getting better and better, but I’d like to fight top-5.”

And despite registering his third straight victory in 2019, the 39-year-old hinted that he may still have enough energy in his legs for one more outing before the end of the year, pointing to the UFC’s November visit in his native Brazil as a potential opportunity.

“Who knows?” he asked. “Let me go home, let me rest up, let me get that steak and who knows, man? I’m a little bruised right now, nothing crazy, but hey, it’s a possibility I could get another fight. That’d be great.”