Max Rohskopf stepped in at the last minute to face Austin Hubbard on June 20 on a UFC Fight Night card. Just before the third round started Max continually told his corner including coach Robert Drysdale to end the fight and they repeatedly said no. Encouraging a fighter is one thing but when that fighter is telling you they are finished more than once it means they are finished. Just saying.
The actions of the corner are reportedly being probed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the matter and one of those individuals is former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith.
Smith was in the middle of a very similar controversy but in his case the roles were reversed. Lionheart was absolutely brutalized by Glover Teixeira in May before being put away in the last round of a main event that was very hard to sit through. Anyone watching that fight could pick several moments that the towel probably should have been thrown in by Smith’s corner. Anthony refused to let them stop it so the fight continued until he was knocked out in the fifth.
Having been through his own corner controversy he spoke with TMZ and held nothing back concerning his opinions on the actions of Max’s corner. The full video is beneath the following paragraph.
I’m frustrated, for sure. It was frustrating to watch and I think that the reaction from the fans and the other fighters is more frustrating, especially given the situation that I was just in not that long ago. I get it that it’s a kid that’s young, he’s facing some adversity for maybe the first real time in his career. Maybe he thinks he doesn’t have it or maybe he needs some encouragement.