Referee Jason Herzog apologized for his role in Anthony Smith’s loss to Glover Teixeira, but Smith doesn’t feel an apology was necessary.

Plenty of blame and finger pointing went down in the aftermath of last week’s UFC on ESPN+ 29 main event. Teixeira put on an impressive showing in his victory over his fellow former UFC light heavyweight title challenger in Jacksonville, Fla. After two close rounds, Teixeira turned up the heat in the third and put Smith through the wringer, as the bout turned one-sided and eventually became almost painful to watch.

By the time the bout was waved off in favor of Teixeira early in the fifth round, Smith’s injuries included a busted orbital bone, smashed teeth, and a broken nose.

This set off a firestorm of speculation in the MMA space about whether the fight should have been stopped sooner, to the degree Herzog felt compelled to issue an apology over the internet, in which he didn’t specifically name Smith, but made it clear to which fight he was referring.

But in a recent interview with ESPN, Smith said that while he hasn’t spoken to Herzog since the bout, if they did talk, he wouldn’t accept an apology, for a simple reason: He felt Herzog had no reason to feel sorry.

“I wouldn’t have accepted (an apology),” Smith said. “I wouldn’t have. Because I don’t need an apology. His hands are clean on this one. We’re good.”

Not only did Smith believe Herzog doesn’t have to apologize for how he called the fight, but he wanted to make it clear he’d have no problem with having Herzog as the third man in for any future bouts.

“I think he’s a phenomenal ref, and I would love to have him in there with me again,” Smith said. “Because he’s very clear, he stays out of the way, he’s quiet.”

Smith believes the best referees are the ones who let the fighters fight. Along with Herzog, Smith singled out Keith Peterson and “Big” Dan Miragliotta for their approach to officiating fights.

“Keith Peterson is another guy who I really enjoy, too,” Smith said. “They don’t insert themselves, ‘Big’ Dan is good. they stay back, they let you fight, and sometimes you forget there’s a even ref in there. Like I said he’s very clear in there with his instructions, he speaks when he needs to. He’s great, man. He’s really, really good.”