Anthony Smith lived up to his ‘Lionheart’ nickname in May 2020.
The light heavyweight contender was on the wrong end of a brutal beating from Glover Teixeira during a UFC show with no crowd at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In between rounds, Smith could be heard telling his corner team his ‘teeth were falling out’ as a result of Teixeira’s strikes.
Incredible footage from the fourth frame shows the American reaching out to hand something to referee Jason Herzog as Teixeira pummels him with punches.
Post-fight, Smith confirmed he gave the official one of his teeth.
“I couldn’t keep my mouthpiece in due to the missing tooth,” he said.
“I looked down and it was on the canvas. So, I grabbed it and handed it to him.”
Amazingly, he managed to see out the fourth frame, but he was ultimately stopped 64 seconds into the final round of his fight with Teixeira.
UFC CEO Dana White was surprised Smith wasn’t pulled out earlier.
He said at a press conference: “I thought the corner wouldn’t let him come out for the fifth round. He was spitting his teeth out.”
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“I’m no doctor, but I would bet anything he’s got a broken orbital.
“Every time he got hit, he would react to it and turn away. I thought his corner wouldn’t let him go out for the fifth.”
Former dual-weight champion Daniel Cormier went a step further than his boss by condemning Smith’s corner for allowing him to fight for so long.
He tweeted: “I would have stopped the fight, corner could have saved their guy from getting finished. Some mistakes in that corner tonight. And I love those guys!
“I would have stopped the fight, corner could have saved their guy from getting finished,” Cormier tweeted.
“Some mistakes in that corner tonight. And I love those guys!
“Too much instruction, no crowd to filter it. Anthony Smith is a savage, but props to Glover Teixeira on a big victory.”
The 35-year-old was immediately taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with several nasty injuries before getting his teeth fixed.
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Smith suffered a broken nose, and a broken orbital bone and needed stitches for a cut under his eye.
A beating like that would change most people, but Smith has continued to fight in the same manner in the nine bouts that have followed his meeting with Teixeira.
Last time out, he became the first man to beat Brazilian KO artist Vitor Petrino, who he needed just two minutes to submit at UFC 301 in May.
Smith will face Roman Dolidze in a short-notice matchup at UFC 303 on Saturday night.
Carlos Ulberg was his original opponent, but he fell off the card and the 57-fight veteran agreed to face anyone willing to step in.
Smith will be hoping to continue his latest title charge this weekend.
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