Anthony Smith reacts to disappointing TKO loss to Khalil Rountree Jr. minutes after leaving the octagon

Anthony Smith has given his initial thoughts on the TKO loss against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC Vegas 83.

The former light heavyweight title challenger entered the octagon on Saturday night with the hopes of potentially making his way to one more title shot. Standing in his way was Khalil Rountree Jr., who was riding a career-best four-fight win streak.

As the fight started, it became quite evident that Rountree Jr. was the better fighter. Smith struggled to find his feet from the first bell. While the first round of the fight was close, Rountree Jr. landed the more damaging shots. As the fight progressed, 'The War Horse' started to establish his dominance in the bout and ultimately secured an impressive TKO victory in the third round.

Just minutes after the fight, 'Lionheart' took to Instagram to react to his loss. While thanking his fans for the support, Smith said:

"Congrats to Khalil and his team. Helluva performance. You deserve it. Sorry to everyone who supports me. I gave it my all. Sometimes that's not enough."

Take a look at the post below:

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Anthony Smith seemed confident in beating Alex Pereira ahead of his fight against Khalil Rountree Jr.

Heading into his co-main event bout against Khalil Rountree Jr., Anthony Smith eyed a title fight against Alex Pereira. During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Smith spoke about holes in Pereira's game that he could potentially exploit:

"I am experienced and enough of a veteran to figure out ways to work around the problems that he brings... If Jan Blachowicz can take his back, I can take his back and finish him. If Jiri Prochazka can take him down, so can I."

While Smith looked confident in getting the better of Pereira, it's safe to say that fans won't be seeing him fight for the title anytime soon now. 'Lionheart' has won just one of his last four fights inside the octagon and will need to put together a long winning streak before being considered for a title shot.