At UFC on ESPN+ 29, Anthony Smith found himself on the receiving end of a sustained Glover Teixeira onslaught.
After two closely contested rounds, Smith (33-15 MMA, 8-5 UFC) suffered quit a bit of punishment in Rounds 3 and 4. Being dropped and mounted by Teixeira (31-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) on multiple occasions, Smith picked himself up and walked to his corner at the end of Round 4.
With a face bloodied, bruised, and swollen, Smith walked back to his corner and sat down. Joined by his corner, Factory X head coach Marc Montoya and UFC welterweight James Krause, Smith blurted out something most viewers – and certainly the UFC broadcast team – wasn’t used to hearing.
“My teeth are falling out,” Smith said.
The corner seemingly skipped over Smith’s remarks – but there’s a reason.
While it doesn’t make the trauma to his brain or face less significant, the “teeth” are actually veneers, according to a Factory X representative who spoke to MMA Junkie following the conclusion of the main event. Apparently, the fit of Smith’s veneers is not an uncommon problem for the one-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger.
Veneers are clear coverings placed on the teeth to either cover up or correct a number of different dental issues.
“They shave your actual teeth down and replace them with basically a cap,” the Factory X representative told MMA Junkie. “They have been an absolute disaster for him from the beginning.”
Smith’s teammate, UFC middleweight Zak Cummings also took to Twitter to clarify the situation and defend the decision to not stop the fight.
“Anthony recently got veneers so this isn’t as bad as it sounds,” Cummings wrote. “Plus, ‘Lionheart’ is known for big knockouts after being badly hurt. You have to know your fighter.”
Ultimately, the fight was called off with Smith losing by TKO in Round 5.
