‘Lionheart’ Issues Statement On UFC Jacksonville Loss

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Anthony Smith suffered the worst loss of his MMA career earlier this week when Glover Teixeira finished “Lionheart” via fifth-round TKO at UFC Jacksonville (highlights HERE).

Not only did Smith lose the main event bout after firing on all cylinders in the first few rounds but he ended up walking away with serious damage. From having his teeth knocked out to a broken orbital bone, Smith sustained massive punishment at the hands of Teixeira.

As a result of the damage, Smith’s corner has been ridiculed quite a bit by the MMA community for not throwing in the towel and saving “Lionheart” from an unnecessary fifth round. Smith ended up supporting his corner’s decision as well but the aftermath was too gruesome to dismiss.

Smith has now taken to social media to offer his first official statement following his loss to Teixeira earlier this week. “Lionheart” posted the following message along with a photo of him and his daughter.

“Everyone is arguing about good stop, bad stop, bad corner, good corner…blah blah blah. I’m still winning. I’m good, and I’m exactly where i need to be, doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. All that time spent worrying about me needs to be spent somewhere a little more productive,” wrote Smith.

Smith may be right about the world having larger issues to worry about these days, but fight fans couldn’t help discuss his loss at UFC Jacksonville due to its vicious nature. “Lionheart” has become one of the most well-rounded fighters on the UFC roster over the past few years and we’re simply not used to seeing him get beat up like that, even when he faced Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title.

Still, Smith seems to be in good spirits and around the people who matter most to him. Hopefully he’s able to make a full recovery and fix the things that plagued him against Teixeira.

For complete UFC Jacksonville results and coverage click here.