Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith had a good run in MMA with a 38-22-0 record and fights with veterans like Khalil Rountree Jr. and Vitor Petrino. His entry into the UFC was not easy, since he still had a full-time job as a concrete finisher while juggling his MMA career. The former Cage Fury Fighting Champion decided to retire after 3 back to back losses, but the last one came after a huge setback in his life. His fight before the last dance was at UFC 310, where he lost against Dominick Reyes, but this loss was more of an outlet for his emotions. “I need to destroy something,“ Smith told MMA Junkie and other reporters at UFC 310 media day. “That’s why I’m here. It might be me. Maybe I run into a f—–g buzzsaw and leave not the same way I came here, and I’m good with that, too.”
He was devastated because his longtime friend and coach, Scott Morton, passed away, and he was having a hard time dealing with the same. Smith then proceeded to have his last dance at UFC on ESPN 66, which was a brutal bloodbath. He suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Zhang Mingyang and was cut open by an elbow early. However, ‘Lionheart’ kept on fighting until a stoppage on the ground ended the fight. The 36-year-old, though, was not sad about the loss.
Meanwhile, Michael Bisping doubled down on what happened in this fight and mentioned how fighters should retire before their time is up. He said, “It was a beautiful display from Zhang Mingyang. This guy has got a bright future. He’s now ranked based upon the win over Anthony Smith, chopped him up, and opened up that huge cut man; that cut was just disgusting. That blood was just pouring out of it. I don’t think I have ever seen that amount of blood in such a quick time for 1 single cut. That’s the thing with these elbows. The elbows just cut the skin open.”
He proceeded further, saying, “Because afterwards, when you saw Anthony, he was cleaned up. It didn’t even look bad. It was right in the first round, it was a nice little elbow to the head. And yeah, of course, that wasn’t what finished the fight, it wasn’t the cut, it was that Anthony was on the ground. Taking some ground and pound. That’s the nature of the beast, man. You stick around long enough, you become chewed up, you get spat out, and then the next generation makes a name off you.”
UFC 301 media day RIO DE JANEIRO, RJ – 01.05.2024: UFC 301 MEDIA DAY – The UFC301 Media Day took place this Wednesday 01, at Windsor Marapendi. In the photo, athlete Anthony Smith. Photo: Belga/Fotoarena x2531256x PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxBRA Belga
However, before fighting his opponent, Smith had disclosed to MMA Junkie that he was excited about the prospect of retirement and, finally, he could concentrate on his family. He said, “So I’m refusing to be sad. I shouldn’t be allowed to be sad. It’s been a long journey. I’ve been doing this since I was 17 years old. I’m going to be 37 in a couple of months. I got enough. I built my life around what I was able to do in this sport. It’s afforded me opportunities I was never, ever able to have. I’m forcing myself to be happy that it happened and not sad that it’s over.”
Anthony Smith gets emotional over his retirement
Zhang Mingyang ended Smith’s last fight within the first 5 minutes and proved his prowess by landing 76 strikes compared to Smith, who landed 22. However, after the loss, Smith gave his opponent the credit where it was due. He also thanked his fans in an emotional post on social media, revealing that he did not see himself as a top-level fighter but was satisfied with how his career ended up. “That’s a wrap! Congrats to Zhang. The LHW division is on notice. You’re gonna have a great career,” Anthony Smith wrote on Instagram. He also thanked his family and friends, who supported him through all these years. Lastly, thanked UFC for “saving his life.”
Interestingly, he was surprised when he learned that his opponent was going to Mountain Tiger. “I had the same conversation with Mick Maynard in Anaheim when I got the name. I was a little bit taken… I just didn’t know who he was. I had never even heard his name before,” Anthony Smith told MMA Fighting. But now that he has wrapped up his MMA career, what do you think is next for him? Will we see him as a commentator or as an analyst? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
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