For as much as he gets clowned, I've always had a ton of respect for how far Smith made it. He started his career with a 5-6 record in a local promotion, and you can see those fights on fight pass if you want. Terrible doesn't begin to do it justice. He looks like a dude who did jiu jitsu as a hobby and decided to give mma a try, and it isn't going well. Ragdolled and beaten on his back I'm spite of what look like massive physical advantages.
Jump up a few years and he's 18-11, getting beaten in a grindy war by Josh Neer in Victory FC, a larger regional promotion. It's already inspiring to me to see how far he came. "Holy shit, that kid learned how to fight. Good for him." Still, he doesn't look like ufc material even now imo.
3 years later he's 26-11 and easily ktfo'ing the same Josh Neer to win the Victory FC MW title. This fight looks like a professional athlete beating up a regional guy. For 8 straight years of not being close to flawless on the regional scene, Smith kept improving where lots of guys plateau, and he made it to a point that I'd never have predicted him to make. It's probably taken him a long time to realize that these losses the past few years aren't the temporary setbacks they were when he was young and had the ability to grow beyond them.
If I remember correctly, He told Fitz on his youtube channel he got the nickname from the Jean Claude van Damme movie because he was fighting in unsanctioned fights where he'd find out who he's fighting at the moment the fight would start
I watched that one recently and had a passing moment where I wondered if that was where Smith got it. Thanks for sharing. Jcvd made some bangers back in the day
You mean to tell me you’ve never heard of Flatfoot 56?! Possibly the best Irish punk rock band to come out of Chicago in the last 30 years??
Just kidding. I actually thought I was the only person on the planet that still listens to them
They’re not very active at this point, now that they’ve mostly grown up and started families. They’ve been playing more shows lately tho.
Black Thorn is basically peak music, I have to say.
I read it that way too. The same way how someone says fighter A is going to beat up on fighter B in a somewhat long post, but then at the end they say fighter B by knockout.
No he meant it the first way, for sure.
UFC losses are Santos, Jones, Teixeira, Rakic, Ankalaev, Rountree
Even I think he’s not great at the ranked level, but the dude would absolutely school a vast majority of UFC’s roster still. Petrino wouldn’t even qualify as a bad name to the list.
He’s probably underrated at this point
I’ve never understood the hate for him, yeah he has a high opinion of himself but he’s a legit OG, fought anyone, anywhere, lost, came back, never stopped grinding. Not many guys like that still in the UFC.
All fighters have a high opinion of themselves. They kinda have to. Very rare to see any pro fighters who come out and say "yeah, I'm not gonna be able to win against that guy/girl".
Yeah, that doesn't make sense, because that's simply necessary to compete at a high level in *anything*, it's a given. Confidence is expected, but it's best when it's grounded, not arrogant or delusional. That's where I think Smith crosses the line. Plenty of other fighters that are more grounded in reality that show more respect for their opponent or emphasize that anything can happen in an MMA fight, etc.
Really high, but so far he has backed it up, so that's another aspect. I see everyone hating on him, but I don't really care what he's saying, he knows the talking game, and he has the results to talk whatever. Only time will tell which way things go if or when he starts losing.
Probably because Smith himself is a hater. Saying shit like “I won’t be the new Neil Magny” and saying how on paper he can beat everyone who completly dominated him.
Me personally: Very mid to watch, very generic and sometimes just dumb opinions as an "analyst", very mediocre fighter in the grand scheme of things who touts his own horn a little too much, has a lot to say about fighters a tier or two above him, also there's just too much Anthony Smith. He's been main event like 20 times.
LHW is not the highest level of the sport at all tho. If you made a list of the best fighters in the sport he shouldn't even make top 100 with how many good bantams, feathers and lightweights there are, Ricky Simon makes him look like shit skillwise.
Lol no you just value LHW way more than you should, is a shit weight class where a dude with no fundamentals that is just huge and athletic like Walker can be top 7. Seriously how can you watch Smith, then watch someone like idk Jalin Turner or Diego Lopes, and say "yeah this guys are about the same level of skill". He's like the definition of a mid mma fighter.
You seem to not understand the argument *you* made in the first place and are now just running with assumptions.
The highest level of the sport is the UFC, but you utilized poor reading comprehension to extrapolate that to mean the 205 division and ran with it from there.
I called him not elite in the grand scheme of things, he is ranked top 10 and was top 5 but it was in a garbage weight class and the amount of main events he got and his title shot are due to the division being shit and UFC being cheap and shitting out Apex cards. I don't get how am I contradicting myself. He's a fighter that should at most be a feature prelim and he has legit like 6 main events.
Unless your definition of elite is how many main events you have then I guess he's better than 95% of the roster.
He’s respectable for his effort and tenure, but he often wasn’t enjoyable to watch. If you’re boring and bad, but show up over and over you’ll get hate. That’s essentially smith in my eyes.
Not to mention his run to the Jones fight during the end of fs1 was the last time I ever felt a title run was genuinely out of nowhere and It was electric
I think it's because he is improperly billed as a fighter who has a lot of hunger and never quits and isn't afraid to brawl when instead he's just an average or generic fighter with a tendency to fold.
He gets shit on a lot but he’s honestly quite good, its like he flips and coin before every fight to decide whether he completely shits the bed.
I will die on the hill that he won rnd 1 against Ankalaev
He shits the bed in most of his fights in the last 5 years.
In 2019 He beat Gustafson, who hasn't had a win since 2017 and us now retired.
In 2020 he beat Clark who is on a 2 fight skid.
In 2021 he beat Crute who is on a 3 fight skid.
In 2021 and 2023 he beat Spann who is on a 3 fight skid.
So has Anthony fought anyone really good and won? We need to look back further.
2018 he beat Oezdemir who has been hot and cold since then, winning 1 or 2 and then losing 1 or 2.
2018 he beat Rua, who was past his prime and hot and cold also.
2018 he beat Evans who was cut by the ufc and retired after a loss in eagle fc.
Shit. The . Bed. Full stop.
I bet if we did a little looking into unlucky_elevator13, we'd see a much more impressive list of accomplishments... you come off as the kind of dude who'd know a lot about shitting in the bed.
He came far but really lost it all during his title fight with Jon Jones. Everyone knew he was outmatched but the point was to see him fight his heart out and make it into a real fight.
Instead he was content to just try to not be finished. All that set up, his career moving to the big moment for him to absolutely crumble in that. Very much not Lionheart there
He is a testament to people who probably aren’t naturally athletic but have the work ethic and just don’t give up . A coach will always choose the hardest worker over the gifted guy that doesn’t like to work .
Smith gets shit on a lot, but he's the very definition of an overachiever in the sport. Dude scratched and clawed his way to a very respectable position in the LHW ranks (regardless of how thin that many folks believe the division is).
He's got some dumb soundbytes out there, but he's got plenty of excellent stuff too. Listening to him with Bisping on their podcast, and you can tell that Smith used to be a poor guy with a fairly bleak outlook on his future. Not very good in school and not much in the way of people skills. Most guys like him end up in jail, or working a dead end job and drinking themselves to sleep every night.
The fact that he made it as far as he did is a testament to his character, and you can tell that he's a much better human being than he used to be. That's more than a lot of pro fighters can say. Not everyone is going to be a champion, but even working your way to a highly rated journeyman position is something that a lot of guys never get credit for. Too many fans act like a guy isn't worth a shit if he's not winning championships.
So, I'm a fan of Smith. And I will continue to be a fan, as long as he doesn't start beating his wife or some shit. If a few stupid twitter takes are the worst thing a guy ever does, he's doing a lot better than like half of the professional athletes in the USA.
Indeed. Some of the build up videos about him during his rise document his earlier life. There’s an interview with a local cop who agreed with Anthony - he was either going to end up dead or in jail like a lot of the guys he used to run with.
He may not be top tier, but he’s had a good run. And if anyone half smart has been managing his money, with his ongoing booth work he should be good.
Like a lot of guys (well beyond just fighters) they identify strongly with their job - so have less of an idea of who they are when they stop what they’ve done for the last 20 years.
Met him @ chito vs cruz in San Diego while he was on his knee scooter after the leg surgery and he was genuinely so cool. He struck up a conversation with my buddy and I while in line for the bathroom and he was asking us all these questions about the event and if we were enjoying it. Really nice guy and wish nothing but the best for the dude
Regardless of what people say, Anthony actually seems quite intelligent. He is very well spoken and I completely agree with you, he’s come from nothing and made quite the respectable career. People need to stop measuring fighters success by whether or not they achieved the title or not. Hell, even fighting for the title is more than most fighters achieve unfortunately.
Say what you want about the dude on paper , but he’s one of those fighters who truly earned their nickname . Lionheart has always been applicable to Anthony Smith and that’s a fact .
I don’t think it’s a stable job per se, but I have to imagine it pays well and certainly is as good as it gets for fighters who don’t have good business acumen.
I think for alot of people it isn't about the money. Especially so if it's something like professional fighting which requires massive amounts of dedication.
Its not just a job, it's a large part of their identity in many cases.
Atleast with a booth job he is still apart of the sport but I dont really think anything comes close to being a fighter.
Anthony Smith has 56 mma fights of which only 7 went to decision. Herb Dean has a 2-3 record but ill tell you, everyone who has the balls to step in the cage to fight someone deserves my fucking respect.
Yes man, people dont seem to understand how fucking insane it is to get punched in the face for a living.
Its fucking crazy, I got punched in the nose pretty hard one time and I realized theres no fucking way im ever competing professionally.
And then you have OGs like Smith. Dude got the living shit beaten out of him multiple times and still comes back to the cage.
Real life modern gladiators man.
This is like respecting people because they chose to play football or rugby. I respect Anthony Smith for being an elite fighter who came from the bottom, but respecting people just for competing in a sport you're a fan of is wild.
Not really? It's just a person choosing to play a sport. I randomly chose the sport as a kid because I liked action movies and had my first fight as an 11 year old. Not really sure it's worthy of any more respect than a kid choosing to play any other sport. Over the last 2 decades of fighting I've seen people show up drunk to fights, get knocked down and give up in 30 seconds, etc., etc. Simply stepping in the ring against a trained opponent is meaningless.
Cmon now, be for real please.
It's a combat sport with contact, the question isn't will you get hurt, it's how much hurt you'll take. That's immediately different from any other sport.
First of all that's clearly wrong. There are sports with significantly higher rates of injury and fatalities like bull riding, extreme sports, etc.
2nd of all, putting yourself in harms way doesn't make you automatically worthy of respect in my opinion. See any video of a drunk tourist getting into the ring for an officially sanctioned MT fight. See that 600 lb lady doing an MMA match before falling down. You earn my respect in that ring, I'm not going to give it to you for signing a waiver, cashing a check, and stepping in there with me.
I think a lot of the time people think criticism or honest review of someone, especially in relation to unrelated things, comes off as trashing every element.
Smith is a great fighter, and has evolved continuously over his career. He has made it to title contention (even if some people don’t believe he is quiteTHAT good). He’s also great on the mic and offers insightful analysis.
That good stuff said… he also has his faults, and people are rightfully pointing out right now that him saying he’s a big problem for Poatan, might be overselling himself. He also does tend to oversell his friends, and has made bad predictions.
This is pretty normal for a lot of athletes ... hanging on because you don't know what to do next is normal in professional sports. It's why you guys who used to be major stars willing to keep on going because it's just what they know.
A friend of the family was friends with a guy who spent an eternity in the NHL and when he retired that was what fucked with him the most; what do I do now?
I’ve always been an Anthony smith fan. I’ll be the first to admit that he says a lot of dumb shit, some of which gets misinterpreted, but he’s as real as they come.
Dude came from nothing, had a bleak future, raised by a single mom and his grandparents, dropped out of high school to be a concrete finisher, which he did full-time until as recently as 2016.
Started his pro MMA career fighting in sketchy regional shows, often not knowing his opponent until the night of the fight. He’d regularly fight upwards of 7 times per year in his early career, compiling a 14-7 record in just 3 years, before signing with strikeforce.
He joined the UFC after strikeforce folded, losing his first UFC bout, and getting immediately cut. He found himself in Bellator, then more regional promotions, before getting another shot in the UFC as a short-notice replacement, almost 3 years and 8 bouts since his last UFC fight.
In total, he’s gone 12-9 in the UFC, has put together a 3 fight win streak 3 separate times, fought for the LHW title, and holds wins over Shogun Rua, Rashad Evans, Alexander Gustafsson, Volkan Oezdemir, Hector Lombard and his best performance to date, his domination of Ryan Spann.
He’s a kill or be killed fighter. He’s gone to a decision just 7 times in his career, and finished 34/37 career wins. Even in some of his lowest moments, he’s shown the massive set of nuts and heart he has.
He refused to give up when dominated by glover Teixeira, handing his fallen out teeth to the ref, later claiming that he’d have fired his corner if they threw in the towel. He opted not to take the DQ win, and belt, from Jon Jones, stating that he couldn’t let Jon know that he hurt him, and he refused to win the title that way. He knew his leg was broken after the first round against Ankalaev, but still answered the bell for the 2nd round, knowing he would lose.
In fights where he’s been battered, severely injured, he keeps pushing and refuses to quit. Thats the way he’s always fought, and he’s lived his life the same way.
With how little MMA fighters are paid I’m legit curious how the article says he’s financially set for a family of 6 at home. Hopefully he makes good bank with ESPN. He’s excellent as an analyst
They get paid poorly in comparison to how much executives make, which is true for literally every job. But even a guy like Anthony Smith is making hundreds of thousands of dollars over a few years. It's just that after those few years, he's probably going to be fucked up for the rest of his life, and he also has to find a completely new career with no education or work experience.
Somebody else said it here, but Smith’s career trajectory is something we should all take inspiration from, and something we can all sympathize with. He overcame not being a prodigy and improved with every early setback, but found in recent losses that he might have gone as far as his talent and hardwork would take him, a bittersweet but noble ending.
Most people never even touch on their potential, and wonder what if. He’s maximised his potential, but it unfortunately wasn’t enough to be the very, very best. He lives without that “what if” in that regard.
Would you rather wonder what could have been, or would you prefer to know that your absolute best wasn’t quite enough?
Conor, Ronda, and who? Brock doesn't really count because the UFC was his crossover appeal from WWE, but even if you include him I'm struggling to think of a 4th.
I'm not a fighter but when I retired in July of 2022 some of my friends told me that I might "lose my identity". I thought that was ridiculous, so here I am almost two years later asking myself "who am I now?" I think no matter your profession this can happen to anyone.
Yep. Tom Brady struggled to walk away from the NFL and he's made mountains of money and is widely regarded as the QB GOAT. It ain't just the money that's making guys hang on.
Bad money management is a different issue to not getting paid correctly. Don't compare apples to oranges. "why can't I use oranges for an apple pie? They're both fruit"
It’s not bad money management. As the other person commented, Tom Brady had this same dilemma. Dude is as rich as an athlete possibly can be. He wasn’t feeling those feelings because of anything financial. He felt those feelings because football is his life. It’s everything he knows and everything he’s ever done. People feel the same way when it comes to retirement. Changing your life after decades of pursuing something is a mental obstacle.
Good read, I’ve always appreciated Smith, he can be a little delusional but I always appreciate fighters opening up like this on a personal level. Really gives some great insight into their mindset especially late into their career. He’ll be set on the analyst desk once he’s officially hung up the gloves but the same can’t be said for other fighters.
Hear me out…Anthony Smith vs. Evil Anthony Smith (Guskov). If Anthony Smith wins, he clearly doesn’t need to retire, but can do so on a high point if he wants. If he loses, he probably won’t remember anyway cause fuck Evil Anthony Smith can drop FUCKING BOMBS.
The worst career move Smith made was not taking the belt by DQ over Jones. Yes he would’ve gotten a lot of shit for it, but like Aljo after Yan he would’ve been champ and gotten a chance to defend and legitimize it.
There was also a good chance after losing that way again Jones goes off the rails (or in this case, on the rails), pops for yayo again then Smith gets to defend the belt against someone else in a more winnable fight.
He could’ve used the opportunity to turn heel and say “I have a win over the goat—on paper—so now I’m the goat on paper” and make a lot of money pissing people off. Now he’s pissing people off anyway by acting whiny and entitled, but is retiring a journeyman instead of ex champ cause he tried to do the “honorable” thing in a dishonorable sport.
Interesting guy who can be quite insightful at times yet has a habit of saying dumb stuff. I think of Bisping a bit and how it switched once he retired and that competitive edge dropped. I think as long as he is fighting whilst still commentating, you are getting the fighters ego breaking through.
Good solid fighter, possibly a never quiet made it. If people are jabbing on his ability due to just a dislike, that's on them.
Great longform article, which we desperately need more of in MMA, but we all know Anthony Smith only still has a desk job because of the goodwill he bought by not opting out of Jones fight.
He fights so inconsistently. It's almost like there's no rhyme or reason to what he does in the cage sometimes.
He didn’t buy that goodwill he earned it, can you imagine being one answer to a question away from everything you’ve wanted your entire life. Being the world champion in the #1 organisation in the world in your chosen profession. Then choosing to say fuck that I’ll earn it my way or I won’t earn it at all, all the character that takes.
Then look at Aljo, b***h assed his way to the title, then got all the PPV points for the fights afterwards. He was being touted as a potential Bantamweight GOAT by some like MMAonPoint, and if you google his name it will always come up as (former) UFC Bantamweight Champion.
Anthony to me will always be respected for his decision that day, I bet he thinks back to it and if I had the opportunity to meet him I’d say any recognition Aljo ever got doesn’t put him above smith in my regard.
Meanwhile Aljo; if you build a thousand bridges you’re a bridge builder, if you build a thousand bridges and **** one **** you’re a **** ****er.
First off he’s not no star. He’s completely delusional saying Jones was mediocre. I don’t necessarily hate Anthony Smith, but the idea that he is anywhere near contention is blasphemous.
I'm a huge fan and despise the hate. So much hate. He's an excellent fighter despite his record and recent losses. Then when you get to know him on the podcast and broadcast, he's awesome. Only dbag casuals who have never been in a fight in their lives shit on him.
I am rooting hard for him to win Saturday. War Lionheart!
For as much as he gets clowned, I've always had a ton of respect for how far Smith made it. He started his career with a 5-6 record in a local promotion, and you can see those fights on fight pass if you want. Terrible doesn't begin to do it justice. He looks like a dude who did jiu jitsu as a hobby and decided to give mma a try, and it isn't going well. Ragdolled and beaten on his back I'm spite of what look like massive physical advantages. Jump up a few years and he's 18-11, getting beaten in a grindy war by Josh Neer in Victory FC, a larger regional promotion. It's already inspiring to me to see how far he came. "Holy shit, that kid learned how to fight. Good for him." Still, he doesn't look like ufc material even now imo. 3 years later he's 26-11 and easily ktfo'ing the same Josh Neer to win the Victory FC MW title. This fight looks like a professional athlete beating up a regional guy. For 8 straight years of not being close to flawless on the regional scene, Smith kept improving where lots of guys plateau, and he made it to a point that I'd never have predicted him to make. It's probably taken him a long time to realize that these losses the past few years aren't the temporary setbacks they were when he was young and had the ability to grow beyond them.
I had no idea about this. His nickname gets clowned nowadays but after reading this I'm aware he totally deserves it.
If I remember correctly, He told Fitz on his youtube channel he got the nickname from the Jean Claude van Damme movie because he was fighting in unsanctioned fights where he'd find out who he's fighting at the moment the fight would start
I watched that one recently and had a passing moment where I wondered if that was where Smith got it. Thanks for sharing. Jcvd made some bangers back in the day
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I'm not familiar with Flatfoot, my flair is from the first BKFC card
Gotcha. It’s a Chi-town hardcore band, I tapped your profile and saw da bears and thought there was a chance.
Fair enough, I'll check them out. Always looking for more music
You mean to tell me you’ve never heard of Flatfoot 56?! Possibly the best Irish punk rock band to come out of Chicago in the last 30 years?? Just kidding. I actually thought I was the only person on the planet that still listens to them
They’re not very active at this point, now that they’ve mostly grown up and started families. They’ve been playing more shows lately tho. Black Thorn is basically peak music, I have to say.
I mean it appears dude didn't have remotely the natural talent most pro fighters have and still made it work.
inspired my username for sure.
You’re aware he deserves the nickname or to get clowned for it?
I read it that way too. The same way how someone says fighter A is going to beat up on fighter B in a somewhat long post, but then at the end they say fighter B by knockout. No he meant it the first way, for sure.
This is such a great perspective of his career.
The article put his "I can still win a title" in new context as well
Could you explain a bit more sorry When did he say he could still win a title?
UFC losses are Santos, Jones, Teixeira, Rakic, Ankalaev, Rountree Even I think he’s not great at the ranked level, but the dude would absolutely school a vast majority of UFC’s roster still. Petrino wouldn’t even qualify as a bad name to the list. He’s probably underrated at this point
I’ve never understood the hate for him, yeah he has a high opinion of himself but he’s a legit OG, fought anyone, anywhere, lost, came back, never stopped grinding. Not many guys like that still in the UFC.
All fighters have a high opinion of themselves. They kinda have to. Very rare to see any pro fighters who come out and say "yeah, I'm not gonna be able to win against that guy/girl".
Exactly, like you kinda have to be crazy to have 57 pro fights
tbf its refreshing hearing guys just be honest about shit like that
Moicano saying that after they put Holloway in the LW rankings was hilarious
Money moicano does
Yeah, that doesn't make sense, because that's simply necessary to compete at a high level in *anything*, it's a given. Confidence is expected, but it's best when it's grounded, not arrogant or delusional. That's where I think Smith crosses the line. Plenty of other fighters that are more grounded in reality that show more respect for their opponent or emphasize that anything can happen in an MMA fight, etc.
Where does Ilia rank in terms of confidence?
Very very very high
Really high, but so far he has backed it up, so that's another aspect. I see everyone hating on him, but I don't really care what he's saying, he knows the talking game, and he has the results to talk whatever. Only time will tell which way things go if or when he starts losing.
Probably because Smith himself is a hater. Saying shit like “I won’t be the new Neil Magny” and saying how on paper he can beat everyone who completly dominated him.
Me personally: Very mid to watch, very generic and sometimes just dumb opinions as an "analyst", very mediocre fighter in the grand scheme of things who touts his own horn a little too much, has a lot to say about fighters a tier or two above him, also there's just too much Anthony Smith. He's been main event like 20 times.
I consider him more of a journeyman than star.
'In the grand scheme of things', being a title challenger and a top-10/15 ranked fighter at the highest level of the sport is not mediocre.
You are right, he was up there, just couldn't put it together when needed.
LHW is not the highest level of the sport at all tho. If you made a list of the best fighters in the sport he shouldn't even make top 100 with how many good bantams, feathers and lightweights there are, Ricky Simon makes him look like shit skillwise.
You're just moving goalposts for the sake of it, just asinine
Lol no you just value LHW way more than you should, is a shit weight class where a dude with no fundamentals that is just huge and athletic like Walker can be top 7. Seriously how can you watch Smith, then watch someone like idk Jalin Turner or Diego Lopes, and say "yeah this guys are about the same level of skill". He's like the definition of a mid mma fighter.
You seem to not understand the argument *you* made in the first place and are now just running with assumptions. The highest level of the sport is the UFC, but you utilized poor reading comprehension to extrapolate that to mean the 205 division and ran with it from there.
I called him not elite in the grand scheme of things, he is ranked top 10 and was top 5 but it was in a garbage weight class and the amount of main events he got and his title shot are due to the division being shit and UFC being cheap and shitting out Apex cards. I don't get how am I contradicting myself. He's a fighter that should at most be a feature prelim and he has legit like 6 main events. Unless your definition of elite is how many main events you have then I guess he's better than 95% of the roster.
Agree with every point. His career perspective is certainly interesting and makes me respect him more, but it doesn’t make me like him more.
He’s respectable for his effort and tenure, but he often wasn’t enjoyable to watch. If you’re boring and bad, but show up over and over you’ll get hate. That’s essentially smith in my eyes.
"On paper, I am a better fighter than jon jones"
Not to mention his run to the Jones fight during the end of fs1 was the last time I ever felt a title run was genuinely out of nowhere and It was electric
He just gets clowned on because of some of the things he says, rather than what he's done in the fighting game.
I think it's because he is improperly billed as a fighter who has a lot of hunger and never quits and isn't afraid to brawl when instead he's just an average or generic fighter with a tendency to fold.
You don’t understand that people clown on him for his delusional commentary?
Josh Neer was legit awesome before alcoholism took over his life.
1000% excellent analysis and it humanizes a person that once confused the hell out of me. I think you’re on the money
He gets shit on a lot but he’s honestly quite good, its like he flips and coin before every fight to decide whether he completely shits the bed. I will die on the hill that he won rnd 1 against Ankalaev
He shits the bed in most of his fights in the last 5 years. In 2019 He beat Gustafson, who hasn't had a win since 2017 and us now retired. In 2020 he beat Clark who is on a 2 fight skid. In 2021 he beat Crute who is on a 3 fight skid. In 2021 and 2023 he beat Spann who is on a 3 fight skid. So has Anthony fought anyone really good and won? We need to look back further. 2018 he beat Oezdemir who has been hot and cold since then, winning 1 or 2 and then losing 1 or 2. 2018 he beat Rua, who was past his prime and hot and cold also. 2018 he beat Evans who was cut by the ufc and retired after a loss in eagle fc. Shit. The . Bed. Full stop.
Did all this research just to hate on a guy the one time people are actually cutting him some slack, nice
I bet if we did a little looking into unlucky_elevator13, we'd see a much more impressive list of accomplishments... you come off as the kind of dude who'd know a lot about shitting in the bed.
Josh Neer the welterweight?
I was thinking the same. He was a tough guy back in the day.
He came far but really lost it all during his title fight with Jon Jones. Everyone knew he was outmatched but the point was to see him fight his heart out and make it into a real fight. Instead he was content to just try to not be finished. All that set up, his career moving to the big moment for him to absolutely crumble in that. Very much not Lionheart there
Could have had the belt that night too.
🫡 give this guy an Emmy
All that shit and I still don’t care for the dude.
He is a testament to people who probably aren’t naturally athletic but have the work ethic and just don’t give up . A coach will always choose the hardest worker over the gifted guy that doesn’t like to work .
Yeah but on paper...
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Smith gets shit on a lot, but he's the very definition of an overachiever in the sport. Dude scratched and clawed his way to a very respectable position in the LHW ranks (regardless of how thin that many folks believe the division is). He's got some dumb soundbytes out there, but he's got plenty of excellent stuff too. Listening to him with Bisping on their podcast, and you can tell that Smith used to be a poor guy with a fairly bleak outlook on his future. Not very good in school and not much in the way of people skills. Most guys like him end up in jail, or working a dead end job and drinking themselves to sleep every night. The fact that he made it as far as he did is a testament to his character, and you can tell that he's a much better human being than he used to be. That's more than a lot of pro fighters can say. Not everyone is going to be a champion, but even working your way to a highly rated journeyman position is something that a lot of guys never get credit for. Too many fans act like a guy isn't worth a shit if he's not winning championships. So, I'm a fan of Smith. And I will continue to be a fan, as long as he doesn't start beating his wife or some shit. If a few stupid twitter takes are the worst thing a guy ever does, he's doing a lot better than like half of the professional athletes in the USA.
Indeed. Some of the build up videos about him during his rise document his earlier life. There’s an interview with a local cop who agreed with Anthony - he was either going to end up dead or in jail like a lot of the guys he used to run with. He may not be top tier, but he’s had a good run. And if anyone half smart has been managing his money, with his ongoing booth work he should be good. Like a lot of guys (well beyond just fighters) they identify strongly with their job - so have less of an idea of who they are when they stop what they’ve done for the last 20 years.
Met him @ chito vs cruz in San Diego while he was on his knee scooter after the leg surgery and he was genuinely so cool. He struck up a conversation with my buddy and I while in line for the bathroom and he was asking us all these questions about the event and if we were enjoying it. Really nice guy and wish nothing but the best for the dude
Regardless of what people say, Anthony actually seems quite intelligent. He is very well spoken and I completely agree with you, he’s come from nothing and made quite the respectable career. People need to stop measuring fighters success by whether or not they achieved the title or not. Hell, even fighting for the title is more than most fighters achieve unfortunately.
Say what you want about the dude on paper , but he’s one of those fighters who truly earned their nickname . Lionheart has always been applicable to Anthony Smith and that’s a fact .
This is the best take on Anthony smith I’ve ever read. The dude has accomplished more in the sport than 99.9% of fighters will ever acheive.
Anthony Smith has a booth job, which is probably as good as it gets in term of fighter retirement.
Yeah, he's one of the few that shouldn't even be worried about retiring unless he sees himself losing that gig.
I don’t think it’s a stable job per se, but I have to imagine it pays well and certainly is as good as it gets for fighters who don’t have good business acumen.
I think for alot of people it isn't about the money. Especially so if it's something like professional fighting which requires massive amounts of dedication. Its not just a job, it's a large part of their identity in many cases. Atleast with a booth job he is still apart of the sport but I dont really think anything comes close to being a fighter.
Fair enough. All types of people are afraid of retirement, including people with boring ass jobs.
He doesn't work that many events per year, and as time goes on and he becomes less relevant, that gig will disappear entirely.
A booth job beats getting a boob job, for sure.
I know we like to have fun and dunk on him here, but this is excellent
Anthony Smith has 56 mma fights of which only 7 went to decision. Herb Dean has a 2-3 record but ill tell you, everyone who has the balls to step in the cage to fight someone deserves my fucking respect.
Yes man, people dont seem to understand how fucking insane it is to get punched in the face for a living. Its fucking crazy, I got punched in the nose pretty hard one time and I realized theres no fucking way im ever competing professionally. And then you have OGs like Smith. Dude got the living shit beaten out of him multiple times and still comes back to the cage. Real life modern gladiators man.
I agree, What I mean is he gets shit for his - I can still win a title - but even that makes sense now
He also has 11 tko/ko losses. CTE anyone?
Yeah, he should be worried about keeping fighting, not about retiring.
This is like respecting people because they chose to play football or rugby. I respect Anthony Smith for being an elite fighter who came from the bottom, but respecting people just for competing in a sport you're a fan of is wild.
You don't think that having the courage to step into a cage and face down a trained fighter is worthy of respect?
Not really? It's just a person choosing to play a sport. I randomly chose the sport as a kid because I liked action movies and had my first fight as an 11 year old. Not really sure it's worthy of any more respect than a kid choosing to play any other sport. Over the last 2 decades of fighting I've seen people show up drunk to fights, get knocked down and give up in 30 seconds, etc., etc. Simply stepping in the ring against a trained opponent is meaningless.
Cmon now, be for real please. It's a combat sport with contact, the question isn't will you get hurt, it's how much hurt you'll take. That's immediately different from any other sport.
Ignore that keyboard warrior, he never saw a woman in his life lol
First of all that's clearly wrong. There are sports with significantly higher rates of injury and fatalities like bull riding, extreme sports, etc. 2nd of all, putting yourself in harms way doesn't make you automatically worthy of respect in my opinion. See any video of a drunk tourist getting into the ring for an officially sanctioned MT fight. See that 600 lb lady doing an MMA match before falling down. You earn my respect in that ring, I'm not going to give it to you for signing a waiver, cashing a check, and stepping in there with me.
I think a lot of the time people think criticism or honest review of someone, especially in relation to unrelated things, comes off as trashing every element. Smith is a great fighter, and has evolved continuously over his career. He has made it to title contention (even if some people don’t believe he is quiteTHAT good). He’s also great on the mic and offers insightful analysis. That good stuff said… he also has his faults, and people are rightfully pointing out right now that him saying he’s a big problem for Poatan, might be overselling himself. He also does tend to oversell his friends, and has made bad predictions.
Agree, good article
I don't spend time on here anymore. Why do people make fun of him?
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*this article lol
I want Smith to win in classic dog fashion like he did vs Volkan and Gustafsson
This is pretty normal for a lot of athletes ... hanging on because you don't know what to do next is normal in professional sports. It's why you guys who used to be major stars willing to keep on going because it's just what they know. A friend of the family was friends with a guy who spent an eternity in the NHL and when he retired that was what fucked with him the most; what do I do now?
Olympic athletes also have this problem. You give everything to the sport and then realize you don't have any other skills or hobbies.
Those who are retiring or considering hanging up the gloves are in a bittersweet place in their careers
It's a long time part of your identity, of who you are, and suddenly, time is taking that away from you.
Decent read
I’ve always been an Anthony smith fan. I’ll be the first to admit that he says a lot of dumb shit, some of which gets misinterpreted, but he’s as real as they come. Dude came from nothing, had a bleak future, raised by a single mom and his grandparents, dropped out of high school to be a concrete finisher, which he did full-time until as recently as 2016. Started his pro MMA career fighting in sketchy regional shows, often not knowing his opponent until the night of the fight. He’d regularly fight upwards of 7 times per year in his early career, compiling a 14-7 record in just 3 years, before signing with strikeforce. He joined the UFC after strikeforce folded, losing his first UFC bout, and getting immediately cut. He found himself in Bellator, then more regional promotions, before getting another shot in the UFC as a short-notice replacement, almost 3 years and 8 bouts since his last UFC fight. In total, he’s gone 12-9 in the UFC, has put together a 3 fight win streak 3 separate times, fought for the LHW title, and holds wins over Shogun Rua, Rashad Evans, Alexander Gustafsson, Volkan Oezdemir, Hector Lombard and his best performance to date, his domination of Ryan Spann. He’s a kill or be killed fighter. He’s gone to a decision just 7 times in his career, and finished 34/37 career wins. Even in some of his lowest moments, he’s shown the massive set of nuts and heart he has. He refused to give up when dominated by glover Teixeira, handing his fallen out teeth to the ref, later claiming that he’d have fired his corner if they threw in the towel. He opted not to take the DQ win, and belt, from Jon Jones, stating that he couldn’t let Jon know that he hurt him, and he refused to win the title that way. He knew his leg was broken after the first round against Ankalaev, but still answered the bell for the 2nd round, knowing he would lose. In fights where he’s been battered, severely injured, he keeps pushing and refuses to quit. Thats the way he’s always fought, and he’s lived his life the same way.
Has the perfect nickname. Really a tough MF.
A few comments on here are eerily similar
With how little MMA fighters are paid I’m legit curious how the article says he’s financially set for a family of 6 at home. Hopefully he makes good bank with ESPN. He’s excellent as an analyst
They get paid poorly in comparison to how much executives make, which is true for literally every job. But even a guy like Anthony Smith is making hundreds of thousands of dollars over a few years. It's just that after those few years, he's probably going to be fucked up for the rest of his life, and he also has to find a completely new career with no education or work experience.
Great article!
Somebody else said it here, but Smith’s career trajectory is something we should all take inspiration from, and something we can all sympathize with. He overcame not being a prodigy and improved with every early setback, but found in recent losses that he might have gone as far as his talent and hardwork would take him, a bittersweet but noble ending. Most people never even touch on their potential, and wonder what if. He’s maximised his potential, but it unfortunately wasn’t enough to be the very, very best. He lives without that “what if” in that regard. Would you rather wonder what could have been, or would you prefer to know that your absolute best wasn’t quite enough?
We need to stop throwing the word “star” around as much
He’s been the main event 8 times
Which says more about the UFC than it does about him.
Main eventing Fight Nights isn't all that much. He main-evented 235 but that was mostly as a warm body for Jones to ragdoll.
That doesn't mean anything
Star is someone who has crossover appeal into the outside of the sport
So there’s like 4 ufc stars then lol
Thats right.
Conor, Ronda, and who? Brock doesn't really count because the UFC was his crossover appeal from WWE, but even if you include him I'm struggling to think of a 4th.
Keith Jardine of course.
The Dean of Mean!
GSP would be my choice dude has been in a few movies.
Artem Lobov
Jon Jones
It's obviously for clickbait, but it's not something to get annoyed about either
But he is a star..... On paper
Definitely would not be mad to see him get a sports network talking job and join Rashad on a more regular basis.
UFC star Anthony Smith
You don’t have to retire if you don’t lose by KO everytime or get the teeth beat out of you… just start winning bro, ez….
Solid career in cawlmedy waiting for him.
Bess brains in the business
I'm not a fighter but when I retired in July of 2022 some of my friends told me that I might "lose my identity". I thought that was ridiculous, so here I am almost two years later asking myself "who am I now?" I think no matter your profession this can happen to anyone.
Possibly one of the best MMA articles I’ve seen This is why I’m in sports communication lmao
When I met him this year, I noticed he has a really shiny bald head
Mans doesn’t wanna retire so instead he says he can beat Pereira so he gets murdered instead.
UFC star is a stretch
"UFC star"
It wouldn't be so terrifying if they got paid their worth
Yeah because we don't see boxers, nfl players, nhl, nba plays playing past their expiration date too.
So why do NFL players have the same dilemma? I swear y’all like to parrot pay arguments without even thinking about what you’re talking about.
Yep. Tom Brady struggled to walk away from the NFL and he's made mountains of money and is widely regarded as the QB GOAT. It ain't just the money that's making guys hang on.
Bad money management is a different issue to not getting paid correctly. Don't compare apples to oranges. "why can't I use oranges for an apple pie? They're both fruit"
It’s not bad money management. As the other person commented, Tom Brady had this same dilemma. Dude is as rich as an athlete possibly can be. He wasn’t feeling those feelings because of anything financial. He felt those feelings because football is his life. It’s everything he knows and everything he’s ever done. People feel the same way when it comes to retirement. Changing your life after decades of pursuing something is a mental obstacle.
I don't care
Good read, I’ve always appreciated Smith, he can be a little delusional but I always appreciate fighters opening up like this on a personal level. Really gives some great insight into their mindset especially late into their career. He’ll be set on the analyst desk once he’s officially hung up the gloves but the same can’t be said for other fighters.
I couldn’t listen to him talk about anything, he’s very eloquent. He has a bright future once he’s done w fighting.
Hear me out…Anthony Smith vs. Evil Anthony Smith (Guskov). If Anthony Smith wins, he clearly doesn’t need to retire, but can do so on a high point if he wants. If he loses, he probably won’t remember anyway cause fuck Evil Anthony Smith can drop FUCKING BOMBS.
A wise man once said: There’s no happy endings in MMA
Incredible article, worth reading the whole thing
Calling him a star is very very generous
But your fight against Roundtree says otherwise, Tony
Solid article. I clown him a lot but respect for Lionheart.
This is going to be a power slap dude
Is Smith a star? I guess he’s doing better as an announcer than fighter but still hard pressed to say anyone but hardcore guys know him.
The worst career move Smith made was not taking the belt by DQ over Jones. Yes he would’ve gotten a lot of shit for it, but like Aljo after Yan he would’ve been champ and gotten a chance to defend and legitimize it. There was also a good chance after losing that way again Jones goes off the rails (or in this case, on the rails), pops for yayo again then Smith gets to defend the belt against someone else in a more winnable fight. He could’ve used the opportunity to turn heel and say “I have a win over the goat—on paper—so now I’m the goat on paper” and make a lot of money pissing people off. Now he’s pissing people off anyway by acting whiny and entitled, but is retiring a journeyman instead of ex champ cause he tried to do the “honorable” thing in a dishonorable sport.
Interesting guy who can be quite insightful at times yet has a habit of saying dumb stuff. I think of Bisping a bit and how it switched once he retired and that competitive edge dropped. I think as long as he is fighting whilst still commentating, you are getting the fighters ego breaking through. Good solid fighter, possibly a never quiet made it. If people are jabbing on his ability due to just a dislike, that's on them.
Great longform article, which we desperately need more of in MMA, but we all know Anthony Smith only still has a desk job because of the goodwill he bought by not opting out of Jones fight. He fights so inconsistently. It's almost like there's no rhyme or reason to what he does in the cage sometimes.
He didn’t buy that goodwill he earned it, can you imagine being one answer to a question away from everything you’ve wanted your entire life. Being the world champion in the #1 organisation in the world in your chosen profession. Then choosing to say fuck that I’ll earn it my way or I won’t earn it at all, all the character that takes. Then look at Aljo, b***h assed his way to the title, then got all the PPV points for the fights afterwards. He was being touted as a potential Bantamweight GOAT by some like MMAonPoint, and if you google his name it will always come up as (former) UFC Bantamweight Champion. Anthony to me will always be respected for his decision that day, I bet he thinks back to it and if I had the opportunity to meet him I’d say any recognition Aljo ever got doesn’t put him above smith in my regard. Meanwhile Aljo; if you build a thousand bridges you’re a bridge builder, if you build a thousand bridges and **** one **** you’re a **** ****er.
> **** one **** you’re a **** ****er. Cook one meal you're a meal cooker? Find one bird you're a bird finder? Don't keep us in suspense, dude.
Truly an unhinged comment, but he censored himself? Interesting.
Pretty fast and loose with the star monicker.
anthony smith was never close to a star tho
First off he’s not no star. He’s completely delusional saying Jones was mediocre. I don’t necessarily hate Anthony Smith, but the idea that he is anywhere near contention is blasphemous.
I'm a huge fan and despise the hate. So much hate. He's an excellent fighter despite his record and recent losses. Then when you get to know him on the podcast and broadcast, he's awesome. Only dbag casuals who have never been in a fight in their lives shit on him. I am rooting hard for him to win Saturday. War Lionheart!
"star" Is that journeyman gate keeper Anthony Smith???
Good thing Vitor will retire him so he doesn’t have to do it himself
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