“I’m Exactly Where I Need to Be”- Anthony Smith Responds to Fans Worrying about Bad Stoppage

When people criticize referees for bad stoppages, it is usually when they end the fight too early. However, this wasn’t the case when Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira’s fight came to an end.

Smith recently took on the Brazilian fighter in the main event at UFC Jacksonville. The referee stepped in to save Smith from a brutal beatdown at the hands of his opponent.

Many fans and MMA buffs took to social media to criticize the referee for stepping in too late. Smith’s cornermen had to face a lot of flak as well, for failing to intervene despite watching Smith suffer a tremendous amount of punishment. Eventually, Glover forced the referee to step in after dominating the fight.

The fight is not all that Lionheart lost, for he walked away from the fight short of two teeth. In addition, he suffered a cut under his right eye and a broken nose and orbital bone.

The commentators and several fans on social media felt that the fight should have been stopped in the 4th round. However, Smith soldiered through the fourth round and handed his teeth to his cornermen.

Much to the despair of fans his cornermen sent him out to fight in the fifth round. Following which he was TKO’d rather quickly.

However, Smith took to social media to defend his cornermen and address his fans, following the event.

“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,” said Anthony Smith in a bid to justify what went down in the octagon.

This is not the first time the fighter has spoken out in favor of the referee and his cornermen.

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

Smith’s coach Marc Montoya revealed that he has dental veneers. He adds that his oral prosthetics have fallen out during multiple practice sessions. However, the teeth that fell out were real. Many feel that Montoya was just trying to sound less alarming.

Do you think Lionheart is being too callous?