It’s being reported that Anthony Smith sustained multiple, facial injuries in his stoppage loss to Glover Teixeira at UFC Jacksonville. But, the veteran fighter is defending his corner’s decision to not stop the bout, even though he was taking enormous punishment in the later rounds.

Smith defends his coaches

Earlier on in the headliner, it looked like Smith’s hand speed was going to win out, as he beat Teixeira to the punch often and peppered him with jabs. But, the rugged vet continued to press forward, and as the fight went on he landed more and more punishing shots.

In round four, Teixeira battered Smith with heavy punches, and it seemed all but inevitable that “Lionheart” was headed for a loss. But, despite that, Smith came out for round five, and the fight wasn’t stopped by the referee until after he had taken more, punishing blows.

Due to what unfolded, questions were quickly raised about whether Smith’s coaches should have stopped the fight after round four. But, while talking to ESPN, the contender reportedly said this about his corner (quote via MMA Junkie).

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

Now, a lot of fighters would likely say this, and obviously coaches want to give their fighter every opportunity to win. But, in this case, it really didn’t look like Smith was coming back from the punishment he took.

Further, MMA Junkie is also reporting that it looks like Smith broke his nose, his orbital bone and that he lost teeth in addition to veneers.

Dana White thinks the fight should have been stopped

Not surprisingly, Dana White was asked for his thoughts on the main event after the card, and whether the bout should have been stopped earlier. The UFC President said this (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“I do (think we need more corner stoppages),” White said. “I didn’t think his corner was going to let him come out, but that’s between them and their corner.

And the ref could’ve stopped that in the fourth, too.”

“Us sitting on the outside, it was a little tough to watch,” White said. “Cormier was flipping out. Like, flipping out.”

Here’s hoping Smith (33-15) has a speedy recovery. The former middleweight is 3-2 now in his last 5 bouts.

The 40-year-old Teixeira (31-7), meanwhile, has now won four straight. 

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