Anthony Smith didn’t have a problem with the stoppage in his fight against Glover Teixeira at UFC Jacksonville. But he definitely didn’t enjoy hearing that the referee is now taking it upon himself to address the situation. After absorbing a huge number of shots in the third and fourth rounds, Smith was allowed to continue, pausing at one moment during the fight to hand Jason Herzog his teeth that had been knocked out.
There was a lot of damage done, but Herzog didn’t stop the fight until just over a minute into the fifth round, when Smith clearly couldn’t defend himself any longer. Afterward, Herzog reportedly addressed the stoppage on Twitter, stating “there is only one person to blame: me.” While he may have suffered a broken nose, fractured orbital bone and missing teeth as a result of the fight, Smith took umbrage with Herzog’s statement.
“Coward move on his part, in my opinion,” Smith wrote on Twitter when addressing the comments. “I make it a point before fights to know the commands, and what he expects out of each one before every fight. I did everything he asked and responded correctly per the pre-fight meeting. Don’t wilt under a little heat afterwards cause Twitter is mean. The world is soft. Man up.” Smith obviously didn’t blame the referee or his coaches for the way his fight with Teixeira was allowed to continue, and he clearly has no regrets about pushing forward even with the injuries suffered in the fight.
Right now, Smith remains on a mandatory 60-day suspension from the fight as issued by the Florida State Boxing Commission.
Source: MMA Fighting Newsware
