UFC: Dana White ‘shocked’ Anthony Smith’s corner didn’t throw in the towel – ‘it was tough to watch’
- UFC president White says he didn’t think Smith would come out for the fifth round against Glover Teixeira
- White recalls seeing Smith hand his loose teeth to the referee – ‘[Daniel] Cormier was flipping out’
Former light heavyweight contender Smith, who was knocked down at will by Teixeira and dominated with ground-and-pound throughout rounds three to five, could be heard telling his team on his stool after the fourth round in an empty VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena that his teeth were falling out.
“I was shocked that [Smith] came out for the fifth. I didn’t think he would come out. I thought his corner would have stopped it,” White said at the post-event press conference in Jacksonville.
“I’m no doctor but I would be shocked if he doesn’t have a broken orbital, because every time he got punched, he reacted. At one point – you know I’ve got monitors in front of me – and … Teixeira's punching him in the face, and he reached out and handed something to the ref and the ref put it in his pocket.
“I said, ‘What the f***, he just gave something to the ref and the ref put it in his pocket, what could he possibly be giving to the ref?' He was giving up his teeth and the ref was putting them in his pocket, it was crazy. When he went back to his corner all he was saying was, ‘My teeth are falling out’. I didn’t think he was coming out for the fifth.”