Sensei Ewerton Teixeira (born February 13, 1982) is a Brazilian professional kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and Kyokushin Kaikan karateka. Teixeira obtained his first K-1 title in 2008 at K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Fukuoka by beating Keijiro Maeda in the final. He is training K-1 at the Ichigeki Academy Kyokushin Kaikan in Tokyo, Japan. Despite the short career for a kickboxer, Teixeira has notable wins against K-1 legends: Jerome Le Banner, Errol Zimmerman, and Musashi.
After becoming the ninth Kyokushin World Champion in 2007, Teixeira entered K-1 in 2008. His first K-1 fight was against Japanese fan-favorite Yusuke Fujimoto. He won the fight by right cross KO. Teixeira then won the 2008 Japan GP after knocking out Tsutomu Takahagi in the first round followed by two unanimous decision wins over Tsuyoshi Nakasako and Keijiro Maeda.
Teixeira began Kyokushin karate training at the age of 9 years old. At 21, he received a black belt. In 2001, for the first time, he became the champion of the Americas. This success was repeated four more times.
Teixeira is known as a tactical fighter and was virtually untouchable in the world of Full Contact Karate. He was a five-time All-American Champion in 2001 (defeated Kentaro Tanaka), 2002 (defeated Lechi Kurbanov), 2003 (defeated Sergey Osipov), 2004 (defeated Eduardo Tanaka), and 2007 (defeated Andrews Nakahara). He won the 9th World Open Karate Tournament in 2007 (defeated Jan Soukup in the final).
In 2003 he won 3rd place in the 8th Open World Championship IKO1, defeating, among others, Glaube Feitosa. Two years later he was the world champion in the heavyweight category (+90 kg). November 18, 2008, he won 9. Open Championship. In the final tournament, defeated by ippon Czech Jan Soukup.
After becoming the ninth Kyokushin World Champion in 2007, Teixeira entered K-1 in 2008. He was then placed in the 2008 WGP eliminations against Japanese veteran Musashi. He won by unanimous decision and qualified for his first World Grand Prix championships.
In the quarter-finals, he fought his first non-Japanese opponent, Errol Zimmerman. Teixeira surprised the world by beating Zimmerman throughout the fight until he was dropped in the third round and ended up losing the fight by decision.
In Yokohama, in March 2009 he beat Jerome Lebanner by decision in the 5th round. At the Final 16, despite being a big favorite and promising a KO against the new Asia champion, Sing Jaideep, he won a decision in the 5th round. In the finals, he was knocked out by Alistair Overeem in round 1 after a knee to the chin.
In 2010 Teixeira fought K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Canberra as a super fight won by KO over Alex Roberts. He then fought in K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Seoul Final 16 against Mr. K-1 Peter Aerts losing a close bout in the extra round extension. The fight provided a defining moment for fans, finally proving that the Kyokushin fighter belonged in K-1.
Teixeira ended 2010 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final as the Reserve match and once again surprised everyone by outclassing Errol Zimmerman for a judge’s unanimous decision.
Texeira was waiting for engagement in K-1, but since there were no offers he decided to move to MMA, training with former UFC Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. He made his MMA debout on 23. Jun 2012, winning the fight via KO in round 3.
He lost to Hesdy Gerges by unanimous decision at Glory 13: Tokyo – Welterweight World Championship Tournament in Tokyo, Japan on December 21, 2013.
Titles and accomplishments
Kickboxing
2008 K-1 World GP in Fukuoka champion (defeated Keijiro Maeda in the Final)
Kyokushin
2011 2nd Place – 10th Kyokushin World Open Karate Tournament IKO 1 (Lost to Tariel Nikosheivili)
2011 5th Place – All-American Open Karate Championships (Lost to Shouki Arata)
2007 9th Kyokushin World Open Karate Tournament IKO 1 (Defeated Jan Soukup)
2007 All-American Open Karate Championships (Defeated Andrews Nakahara)
2006 All-American Open Karate Championships (Lost to Andrews Nakahara)
2005 3rd Kyokushin World Weight Tournament Heavyweight (Defeated Lechi Kurbanov)
2004 All-American Open Karate Championships (Defeated Eduardo Tanaka)
2003 8th Kyokushin World Open Karate Tournament IKO 1(Lost to Hitoshi Kiyama/Defeated Glaube Feitosa)
2003 All-American Open Karate Championships (Defeated Sergey Osipov)
2002 All-American Open Karate Championships (Defeated Lechi Kurbanov)
2002 2nd World Team Cup (Defeats Russia)
2001 All-American Open Karate Championships (Defeated Kentaro Tanaka)
2001 Brazilian Open (Lost to Ulysses Isobe)
2001 2nd Kyokushin World Weight Tournament Heavyweight final 16
2000 Paulista Championships
2000 Brazilian Open Final 16
Active fighting years: 2001 – 2013.
