“The Fight Should Have Been Stopped!”- Fans Not Happy as Anthony Smith Takes Brutal Punishment For 3 Rounds

UFC Ajax saw Glover Teixeira back in action in a Light Heavyweight bout with “Lionheart” Anthony Smith. The 40-year-old Brazilian brought into use his exceptional boxing technique and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to win the bout.

The 5-round match started with Smith going hard on the offensive. He executed the plan for the fight brilliantly in the first round. However, his cardio was no match for that of Teixeira.

Though Smith’s jabs hit gold in the first two rounds, his fatigue became quite clear by the end of the second round. The advent of the third round saw the tide of the match change. Teixeira started dishing out devastating strikes, damaging Smith’s right eye in the process.

Moreover, Glover’s excellent ground-game came in handy to dominate an exhausted Smith. He threw devastating strikes at Smith while sitting on his back, busting open his left ear in the process. Glover continuously attempted the rear-naked choke, but Anthony did not let him get the submission in.

Smith survived three rounds of pure demolition, living up to his name of “Lionheart”. Even though it just wasn’t his day, he almost went through the length of 5 rounds and Glover won by TKO 1:04 into the fifth round. However, many believe that the punishment that Smith was going through was very evident, and the corner could have done something much earlier to avoid letting their fighter go through sheer obliteration.

It is not uncommon for corners to throw in the towel when they feel that their fighter is just not in it. After all, one loss is far too little compared to a botched up career because of one bout of continuous punishment.

Anthony Smith even told his corner that he might have broken a tooth or two. What do you think made the corner refrain from stopping the fight?

Glover Teixeira “apologizes” to Anthony Smith mid-fight

Glover is an experienced fighter. And when he saw just how iron-willed Smith was while he dominated him on the ground, he felt it was important to clear the air with Lionheart. This is the conversation that took place between the two mid-fight. There was massive respect in his heart for Anthony even as he threw hammer fists at him.

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

Glover even went to Smith after the bout came to a stop to pat his back and congratulate him for his will to go on. Here is how the fight came to an end.

Glover again went to hug it out with Smith after the conclusion of the fight. Both fighters won hearts today. One with his exceptional fighting, and the other with his inspiring fighter spirit. Yet, it is Anthony’s luck that he did not face any serious injury in the 3 rounds that Glover dominated.

Do you think that the fight should have stopped before it did? What do you think about the performance of the fighters?

Also read: Twitter Pours in Messages of Support as Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Father’s Condition Worsens