Glover Teixeira apologizes to Anthony Smith mid-pummeling at UFC Jacksonville
It was tough at times to watch Glover Teixeira deliver a brutal pummeling to Anthony Smith at UFC Jacksonville on Wednesday night. It was also tough to listen as Teixeira is caught on audio apologizing for the beating he was delivering.
UFC’s second show in five days in Florida during the COVID-19 crisis featured Teixeira, 40, extending his winning streak to four. Smith won the first round, but the fight turned quickly in the second, and Smith took big shots the rest of the way. It resulted in this conversation between the light heavyweight fighters late in the bout.
Teixeira: Sorry, Anthony, it’s part of the job.
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— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 14, 2020
There’s some back story to the conversation that makes it tougher to stomach. According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, after Smith lost to Thiago “Marreta” Santos at UFC Fight Night 125 in Brazil in 2018, Smith was wandering around the airport on crutches. He lost via technical knockout in the second round.
When Anthony Smith lost to Santos in Brazil in 2018, he was wandering around the airport while on crutches. He seemed lost. Glover Teixeira came up to him and helped guide him through to his flight. That meant a lot to Anthony. I’m sure that wasn’t enjoyable for Glover. https://t.co/lDfBmTvHR9
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 14, 2020
While wandering and lost, Teixeira came up to Smith and helped him to his flight. “That meant a lot to [Smith],” Helwani said.
Smith suffered a list of injuries to his face at UFC Jacksonville.
Just spoke to Anthony Smith via text.
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.— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 14, 2020
And he said he did hand his teeth to ref Jason Herzog during the fight.
“I couldn’t keep my mouthpiece in place due to the missing tooth,” he said, via Helwani. “I looked down and it was on the canvas. So I grabbed it and handed it to him.”
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