Anthony Smith got beaten about as badly as a UFC fighter can be beaten in his bout against Glover Teixeira on Wednesday.
The light heavyweight fighter (33-15, 17 KOs) lost via TKO to Glover Teixeira (31-7, 18-0) in the fifth round, though it was clear that Smith's corner or the ref should have stopped the fight before then.
Case in point: Smith handed his knocked-out teeth to the ref in the middle of Round 4, then told his corner "my teeth are falling out" before the beginning of Round 5.
Anthony Smith legitimately handing Ref Jason Herzog his teeth in the middle of round 4 #UFCJAX #UFCFightNight #UFCJacksonville pic.twitter.com/SVYV4x6NYH
— Debate and Debauchery (@dbatendbauchery) May 14, 2020
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It was an absolutely brutal reminder of how ugly this sport can get — a point made further by the report of Smith's extensive injuries, per ESPN reporter Ariel Helwani:
Just spoke to Anthony Smith via text.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 14, 2020
Injuries suffered tonight: Broken nose, broken orbital bone, two missing teeth and a cut under his right eye. One tooth in front and one towards the back, he said. His real teeth.
Teixeira, to his credit, seemed to understand the beating he gave Smith. The two could be overheard conversing shortly after he forced Smith to relinquish his teeth to the ref.
Teixeira: Sorry, Anthony, it’s part of the job.
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 14, 2020
Smith: What?
Teixeira: Sorry. Part of the job.
Smith: Yeah. It is what it is.
This mid-fight convo between @gloverteixeira and @lionheartasmith is wild 🤯 #UFCJax pic.twitter.com/p4VEPqFjxI
Kudos to Teixeira for the good sportsmanship — and to Smith for suffering through it.
