Glover Teixeira Defeats Anthony Smith via TKO, Earns Performance of the Night Bonus

Glover Teixeira defeated Anthony Smith in the main event of the UFC Fight Night 175, held in Jacksonville last night. The stoppage came after one minute and four seconds inside the final round.

It was a magnificent fight in which we saw a lot of action both in standup and on the ground. Smith had an edge in the first two frames, but Teixeira completely changed that afterward.

Eventually, he got not only a win but a Performance of the Night Bonus. On the other side, Smith lost the second fight in the last three, and besides that, a couple of his teeth as a consequence of heavy beating he absorbed.

Glover Teixeira wins by TKO +700 over Anthony Smith

https://t.co/04nIcObJNX

— Barstool Gambling (@stoolgambling) May 14, 2020

Smith (32-15 MMA, 8-5 UFC) was on the ground in one moment, and his mouthpiece fell out, and it is pretty possible that it was the moment when this happened. Teixeira (31-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) was all over him in this situation. Some were criticizing his corner, saying that they didn’t stop the fight when needed, which would save him from additional injuries and pain. In between the rounds, Smith told his team that he felt his teeth coming out, yet they didn’t react, which was a spark for all the criticism.

Nevertheless, the fighter doesn’t think like that.

“I’m good with the decisions the referee and my corner made,” Smith told. “When the ref made it clear he needed to see something or 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.”

However, Dana White isn’t sharing the same opinion.

“The ref could’ve stopped that in the fourth,” White said. “Us sitting on the outside, it was a little tough to watch.”

One interesting moment happened during the fight. Teixeira was dominating, and with both him and Smith on the ground, he began apologizing to his rival.

Teixeira: Sorry, Anthony, it’s part of the job.
Smith: What?
Teixeira: Sorry. Part of the job.
Smith: Yeah. It is what it is.

"My teeth are falling out." 🦷 #UFCJAX pic.twitter.com/FPeJ9181j0

— UFC (@ufc) May 14, 2020

These two guys have a connection outside the octagon ever since Teixeira helped Smith in 2018 after his loss in Brazil to Thiago Santos. Back then, the American was lost at the airport, with numerous injuries after the battle, but the veteran came up to help him and take him to his flight.

As for Glover, he is on a four-win streak now, and is the second fighter in history with such an achievement after the age of 39. He defeated Karl Roberson, Ion Cutelaba, Nikita Kyrilov, and now Smith, proving that despite his age and several defeats he had two, three years ago, he is still among the top light heavyweight fighters.

“It’s not how hard you hit, it’s how hard you get hit and keep coming forward,” Teixeira said, following the fight, explaining his excellent results.

According to many, after this fight, he might be in the combination of getting a shot at the title, pretty soon. What needs to be sorted out first is the entire situation surrounding Jon Jones, who has some legal issues.

There were some rumors that Bones might be stripped of the title again, and then to have Dominick Reyes and Thiago Santos meeting one another in a clash for the vacant title. Those are all speculations, but until this problem is solved, Teixeira would have to wait.