The entire world of mixed martial arts went into a frenzy when Anthony Smith flipped off a fan after he lost the fight against Mingyang Zhang at UFC on ESPN 66. This definitely wasn’t something that one would expect from a fighter who has been entertaining the fighting realm for around 17 years, right? But apparently, ‘Lionheart’ has been having fallouts with fans a bit too often lately. At the media day for UFC 301, he publicly claimed that “fans are stupid.” This stemmed from the online hatred he received prior to the event. But what was it that had him on edge on his retirement night?
To set things straight, Smith was already on an emotional rollercoaster. He lost his closest friend and coach, Scott Morton, just a month prior to his fight at UFC 310. The fighter from Nebraska never really trained or fought without Morton in his corner ever before (during his affiliation with Factory X, of course). The duo had trained together ever since Smith was 17. And losing Morton was nothing short of a tragedy for the Texas-born fighter.
And this time, his emotions went out of control when ‘Mountain Tiger’ KOed him in the very first round. Nevertheless, Smith revealed the real reason why he flipped off the fan.
During the UFC Kansas City post-fight show, he revealed, “There was a guy in a Nebraska shirt and he was like booing me and flipping me off and kind of talking trash before the fight. But I was really focused on what I had to do. Then after the fight, his friend is cheering, and he’s still flipping me off and saying some pretty disrespectful things. I was so mad. He was wearing a Nebraska shirt! We’re supposed to be family here. It’s not a very big community of people here!”
Even the Chinese light heavyweight contender asked Smith to stop. But he revealed that he was quite emotional at that moment. Needless to say, the outcome of the bout frustrated him. He continued, “I just couldn’t believe that. I pour my heart and soul into this game and I don’t care if you think that I suck or that I’m not very good. If you’re sitting in the crowd, you’re definitely not doing what I’m doing, especially wearing a Nebraska shirt. You can’t talk trash wearing a Nebraska shirt! Like, come on now! That’s all that was.”
Soon, MMA Junkie shared Anthony Smith’s revelation on Instagram, and the fighting community went crazy. They took to the comments section and revealed what they thought about Smith’s behavior.
Anthony Smith impressed no one by flipping off the resentful fan
Fight fans had a similar opinion. Most of them believed that with the experience that the fighters garner, they begin to give less attention to what their haters have to say. But the fact that Smith was still offended by a fan didn’t really sit well with the fans. One of them claimed, “Dude fought like 50 pro fights and the fans still get to him. Truth hurts.” Another fan added, “I feel like by the time you’re walking out to the cage for the final time this is something that shouldn’t bother you anymore.” One more fan expressed his disappointment and wrote, “Terrible, proves anyone could get into the UFC.”
Meanwhile, some of the fans asked Dana White and Hunter Campbell to put Smith against the hateful fan in the Octagon. According to them, this would be the perfect retirement fight for ‘Lionheart’. One of the comments read, “f— it this isn’t the retirement dana and Hunter book Anthony Smith vs Nebraska shirt guy.” Another fan backed the notion and commented, “The UFC should have thrown the fan in the octagon so Anthony could have had some final fight redemption and end with a W!” Well, Smith indeed retired with a 3-fight losing streak – something that no fighter ever wants. There were a few fans who believed that Smith would have destroyed the fan if they had fought in the Octagon. One of the comments read, “People are too comfortable insulting professional fighters to their face bro . Most people gotta realise anthony smith would DECIMATE THEM without issue.”
However, many believed that it was actually the light heavyweight contender’s fault. One of the fans changed Smith’s nickname and called him, “Anthony Sensitive-Quitter-Heart Smith.” On the other hand, another fan questioned him about his energy inside the Octagon. The comment went like, “Had the energy to try and talk s— to a fan after the fight but folded and gave up during the fight … where was your energy.”
What do you think of ‘Lionheart’s behavior following his battle against Mingyang at UFC Kansas City? Do you think it’s just an excuse for his loss in his retirement bout? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post “Truth Hurts… Terrible”- Anthony Smith Divides Fans as Flipping the Bird at UFC Kansas City Goes Wrong appeared first on EssentiallySports.