Former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira returned to the mat for a submission grappling showdown with perennial 205-pound contender Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith during Thursday’s UFC Fight Pass Invitational event.
Teixeira and Smith are certainly no strangers to one another, having gone toe-to-toe inside the Octagon a little more than three years ago. After scoring a fifth-round TKO and collecting a few of Smith’s teeth during their May 2020 meeting, Teixeira returned to the mat for a rematch with ‘Lionheart’ inside The APEX in Las Vegas as part of the Fight Pass Invitational 4 co-main event.
The bout was relatively close through the first 10 minutes of action, but with 120 seconds to go, Glover Teixeira took over, dragging Smith to the mat with a clinch takedown. From there, Teixeira advanced his position and ended the bout in full mount, though he was unable to offer up any submission attempts before the final bell.
Teixeira stays with it and ends up in mount#FPI4 pic.twitter.com/cBk54edQmf
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 30, 2023
While Smith had the closest submission attempt, narrowly missing a window of opportunity for a triangle choke, Teixeira’s dominant positioning throughout the match ultimately earned him the victory on the judge’s scorecards.
Smith with a pretty good look#FPI4 pic.twitter.com/rAlMl7B1zD
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 30, 2023
It was a solid win for the former light heavyweight champion following his retirement from mixed martial arts earlier this year. Prior to his Fight Pass Invitational appearance, Teixeira last competed at UFC 283 in January, suffering a unanimous decision loss at the hands of reigning 205-pound king Jamahal Hill.
As for Anthony Smith, the defeat continued an unsettling trend for the one-time UFC title challenger. ‘Lionheart’ has now lost three-straight contests including his loss to Teixeira on Thursday. Inside the Octagon, Smith has dropped back-to-back bouts against Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker. Following his unanimous decision defeat to Walker, Smith admitted to having some very serious gaps in his game that needed to be addressed before climbing back into the cage.
Smith hopes to display some much-needed improvement when he returns on August 26 for a scrap with Ryan Spann.
Just a man with Lionheart's number. Simple as that.#FPI4 pic.twitter.com/KRKgAMRWqV
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 30, 2023
