Anthony Smith Bashes Jiri Prochazka’s War Against Glover Teixeira at UFC 275: ‘Worst Performances of Their Life’

Posted on by Matt James

Former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith spoke to MMA Fighting in the wake of UFC 275’s main event bout. ‘Lionheart’ wasn’t impressed with Jiri Prochazka’s submission win over Glover Teixeria, which made him the first champion from the Czech Republic.

Primarily, Smith believed Prochazka received an older, more compromised version of Glover Teixeira on Fight Night. Anthony Smith believes he’s qualified to make such a statement since he received a hellacious beating at the hands of Teixeira back in May 2020.

“To be honest, I think both of those guys had the worst performances of their life at the same time. I really do. For the first time, Glover looked a little old. For the first time in a while, because that’s not the Glover I got. That’s not the one Thiago Santos got.”

Read More: Former UFC Champion Miesha Tate Slams Valentina Shevchenko for Her UFC 275 Performance: ‘Everybody Thought She Was So Unbeatable’

Additionally, ‘Lionheart’ Smith went on record saying that the fight IQ displayed by both men simply wasn’t up to scratch. Both fighters made several questionable tactical decisions that led to the fight being a competitive war with several reversals taking place on both sides.

“I don’t know who that guy was, but fortunately for him, I think Prochazka had one of the worst performances he could have possibly had too. They just made terrible decisions. Like the fight IQ, if you would have put it together, it wouldn’t have been in the double digits during the fight. They both just didn’t fight smart at all.”

“Glover was mounted several times,” Smith said. “He had [Prochazka’s] back several times, he had him deep in submissions a couple times. He lost position. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Glover lose positions like that before. I know the deficit between those two guys in the grappling department is huge.” [h/t mmafighting.com]

Despite Anthony Smith’s overall criticisms about the fight, Teixeira vs Prochazka was one of the most entertaining light heavyweight fights in UFC history. The scrap is already being compared to the instant classic that was Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson 1. It remains to be seen if Teixeira vs Prochazka stands the test of time.