Pundit Arena Because Sport Is Everything
Glover Teixeira scored a dominant win over Anthony Smith in their UFC Fight Night 171 main event in Jacksonville, Florida.
Teixeira went into the fight as a slight underdog against “Lionheart”, however, the 40-year-old Brazilian put in a career-high performance dismantling the American en route to a fifth-round stoppage win.
Time is an illusion ⏰
At 4️⃣0️⃣, @GloverTeixeira gets the main event win! #UFCJAX pic.twitter.com/6Z5jmqzeIH
— UFC (@ufc) May 14, 2020
The Brazilian weathered an early storm from the explosive Smith before going on to beat down the former title challenger, dropping him multiple times before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.
At one point in the fifth and final round, Teixeira was heard apologising to Smith claiming it was just “part of the job”.
Part of the job 😅
You'll never hear a more honest fight exchange. #UFCJAX pic.twitter.com/EBJgVJmRcx
— UFC (@ufc) May 14, 2020
“Sorry Anthony, part of the job.”
“You what?”
“Part of the job.”
“Yeah, it is what it is.”
Anthony Smith appears to hand the referee his tooth while Glover Teixiera rains down punches…
What is @lionheartasmith made of?! 😨 #UFCJax pic.twitter.com/AoJ48fm8cZ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 14, 2020
The fight was so one-sided that Smith was also caught on camera handing his tooth to the referee.
"My teeth are falling out." 🦷 #UFCJAX pic.twitter.com/FPeJ9181j0
— UFC (@ufc) May 14, 2020
Following the event, Dana White made his feelings clear that he felt it should have been stopped long before the fifth round.
“First of all, Teixeira looked great. He’s in the best shape I’ve seen him in in a long time. Smith [was] tough, durable like we know he is,” White said on the ESPN+ post-fight show.
“I thought the corner wouldn’t let him come out for the fifth round. He was spitting his teeth out.
“I’m no doctor, but I would bet anything he’s got a broken orbital. Every time he got hit, he would react to it and turn away. I thought his corner wouldn’t let him go out for the fifth.”
Smith, however, didn’t see it that way claiming he was happy with the decisions made by both his corner and the referee
“I’m good with the decisions the referee and my corner made,” Smith told ESPN.
“When the ref made it clear he needed to see something of was gonna stop it, I did what I had to do to stay in the fight. I come out of battle with my shield or I come out on it.
“That’s my rule. Period.”
