UFC: Anthony Smith’s teeth fall out in fifth-round TKO upset at the hands of Glover Teixeira
- Teixiera dominates a surprisingly flat Smith in the main event at UFC Fight Night
- ‘Lionheart’ lives up to nickname by showing resilience but looked defeated on his stool after fourth round
The renaissance of Glover Teixeira continued at the expense of Anthony Smith in a surprisingly one-sided UFC Fight Night main event that ended in an upset fifth-round TKO win for the Brazilian.
The 40-year-old Teixeira (31-7) dominated Smith for nearly all of the 21 minutes the contest lasted at an empty VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Wednesday night. All three judges gave Smith the first round 10-9, Teixeira the second round 10-9, and Teixeira the third and fourth rounds 10-8.
“Lionheart” Smith (32-15) lived up to his nickname by managing to survive some serious ground and pound. But he was eventually spared the embarrassment of things going to the judges, with referee Jason Herzog stepping in at 1:04 of the fifth as Teixeira rained down punches from full mount.
It could, and perhaps should, have been stopped earlier, if not by Herzog then by Smith’s corner. The 31-year-old looked defeated on his stool after the fourth round, complaining that “my teeth are falling out” – he had just casually handed some to Herzog a couple of minutes earlier, while taking shots on the ground. His team’s response? “All the fights we’ve had, we’re not losing this one.”
Former light heavyweight title challenger Smith had talked big before the fight about hunting down Jon Jones for the belt again, but he now faces a huge battle to bounce back from a devastating defeat.