UFC fighter Glover Teixeira faced Anthony Smith this week and surprisingly, apologized for earning the win. Teixeira defeated Smith via TKO in five rounds, and while the match was going on, Teixeira was seen talking to Smith, apologizing for the beating he was giving to him. Smith was able to win the first round, but the fight turned in favor of Teixeira very quickly.
According to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, there’s a backstory to Teixeira apologizing to Smith. “When Anthony Smith lost to Santos in Brazil in 2018, he was wandering around the airport while on crutches,” Helwani wrote on Twitter. “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.”
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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
“You’ve gotta open your mind,” Teixeira said to ESPN after the fight. “You’ve gotta look for help when things are going wrong. That’s what I did, baby. And I’m on another run toward the title.” Teixeira, 40 is one of the legends UFC, posting a 31-7 record in his MMA career. He has currently won his last four matches, making one of just two fighters in UFC history to post four-fight winning steaks after turning 39, according to ESPN. Teixeira competes in the light heavyweight division. He has posted 14 light heavyweight wins in his UFC career, the third-most in league history.
“Whatever,” Teixeira said to reporters when asked about taking on light heavyweight contenders Jan Blachowicz, Dominick Reyes and Thiago Santos. “Any of those three guys you just said (work). Jan Blachowicz, if he doesn’t want to wait for Jon Jones for a long time, let’s do it or whatever. Any of those three guys you just mentioned, I respect all of them. (Santos) is in Brazil. Right now, we don’t know because all of the situation (with travel). That would be a good fight to do in Brazil. I like Jan, too. I like the way he fights, man. He’s been fighting really good. I’m been fighting really good. It’s not a bad fight.”
Smith, 31, now has a 33-15 record in his MMA career. Back in March 2019, Smith faced Jon Jones for the Light Heavyweight Championship but lost via unanimous decision. Smith made his light heavyweight debut at UFC 225.
