Anthony Smith speaks after breaking nose, orbital and losing TWO teeth in Teixeira loss
Anthony Smith locked horns with Glover Teixeira last night.
UFC: Glover Teixeira reacts to victory over Anthony Smith
Anthony Smith has spoken out following the beating he suffered at the hands of Glover Teixeira. 'Lionheart' locked horns with Teixeira in the early hours of Thursday morning in the main event of UFC Fight Night 175, which took place behind closed doors at the VyStar Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Smith entered the bout full of confidence following his submission victory over Alexander Gustafsson last May and was certain a victory over Teixeira would put him on course for a rematch with light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
In the first round, 'Lionheart' was in great form and looked on course to blow away Teixeira.
His pace, however, drastically slowed in the second and gave Teixeira the opportunity to get back into the fight, which he took with both hands.
In the third round, the Brazilian landed a nasty uppercut that hurt Smith kicked off a wave of punishing and mostly unanswered strikes.
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I come out of the battle with my shield or I come out on it. That's my rule. Period.
Smith, somehow, managed to make it the fourth and fifth rounds - though referee Jason Herzog mercifully - and belatedly - stopped the fight just over a minute into the final stanza.
Smith suffered one of the most one-sided beatings in recent memory, so much so the entire MMA world - including cageside commentators Daniel Cormier, Jon Anik and Paul Felder - criticised his corner for not stopping the fight.
A dogged Smith, who perhaps was too tough for his own good, left the cage with a broken nose, a broken orbital bone and with two missing teeth - one of which he handed to Herzog as Teixeria was ground-and-pounding him in the fourth round.
Unsurprisingly, the Nebraska native missed the post-fight press conference as he was transported to the hospital.
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He did, however, issue a brief statement on his loss to ESPN's Ariel Helwani.
"I'm good with the decisions the referee and my corner made," Smith said. "When the ref made it clear he needed to see something or he was going to stop it, I did what I had to do to say in the fight.
"I come out of the battle with my shield or I come out on it. That's my rule. Period."
Smith also briefly discussed his teeth falling out, adding: “I couldn’t keep my mouthpiece in place due to the missing tooth. I looked down and it was on the canvas. So I grabbed it and handed it to him.”
UFC Fight Night 175 results
Anthony Smith vs Glover Teixeira - Teixeira def. Smith via TKO (punches) Round 5, 1:05
Ben Rothwell vs Ovince St. Preux - Rothwell def. Saint Preux via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Alexander Hernandez vs Drew Dober - Dober def. Hernandez via TKO (punches) Round 2, 4:25
Ricky Simon vs Ray Borg - Simon def. Borg via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Andrei Arlovski vs Philipe Lins - Arlovski def. Lins via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Michael Johnson vs Thiago Moises - Moises def. Johnson via submission (heel hook) Round 2, 0:25
Prelims
Sijara Eubanks vs Sarah Moras - Eubanks def. Moras via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Gabriel Benitez vs Omar Antonio Morales Ferrer - Morales def. Benitez via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Hunter Azure vs Brian Kelleher - Kelleher def. Azure via TKO (punches), Round 2, 3:38
Chase Sherman vs Issac Villanueva - Sherman def. Villanueva via TKO (elbow and punches), Round