Ref takes sole blame for end of Smith-Teixeira fight

MMA referee Jason Herzog issued a statement Friday, addressing the widely criticized finish to Saturday's main event between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira at UFC Fight Night Jacksonville.

Smith, the favorite in the bout, took a pummeling from Teixeira beginning in the third round. Teixeira earned 10-8 scores from all three judges in each of the third and fourth rounds.

Teixeira would go on to win by TKO in the fifth round, but many observers believed either Herzog or Smith's corner should have stopped the fight before it reached the final round.

"I've seen a lot of opinions about what should have happen (sic), who was at fault. But let me be clear, there is only one person to blame. Me," Herzog wrote Friday on Twitter.

"I am responsible for each fighter I am entrusted to oversee. I will take this experience, make the necessary changes, and get better."

Smith suffered a broken nose and orbital bone in the defeat while also losing two teeth.