Referee Jason Herzog apologized for his role in Anthony Smith ’s loss to Glover Teixeira, but Smith doesn’t feel an apology was necessary. Plenty of blame and finger pointing went down in the aftermath of last week’s UFC on ESPN+ 29 main event. Teixeira put on an impressive showing in his victory over his fellow former UFC light heavyweight title challenger in Jacksonville, Fla. After two close rounds, Teixeira turned up the heat in the third and put Smith through the wringer, as the bout turned one-sided and eventually became almost painful to watch. By the time the bout was waved off in favor of Teixeira early in the fifth round, Smith’s injuries included a busted orbital bone, smashed teeth, and a broken nose. This set off a firestorm of speculation in the MMA space about whether the fight should have been stopped sooner, to the degree Herzog felt compelled to issue an apology over the internet , in which he didn’t specifically name Smith, but made it clear to which fight he was referring. #UFCJAX pic.twitter.com/Y4DefYSdrm — Jason Herzog (@JasonHerzogMMA) May 15, 2020 But in a recent interview with ESPN, Smith said that while he hasn’t spoken to Herzog since the bout, if they did talk, he wouldn’t accept an apology, for a simple reason: He felt Herzog had no reason to feel sorry.
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Anthony Smith: Jason Herzog ‘a phenomenal ref,’ would welcome him for future fights – MMA Junkie