Anthony Smith (fighter)

Anthony Smith (born July 26, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, Smith has also formerly competed for Strikeforce and Bellator. As of July 2, 2024, he is #11 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.

Background
Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Smith grew up in Nebraska City. He was raised by his single mother and grandfather, as his dad was absent. He has stated that he is biracial. Smith dropped out of high school in the middle of his senior year. He started working full-time as a concrete finisher, which he continued until 2016.

Early career
Smith started his career in 2008 and fought mainly for local promotions in the midwestern United States. He compiled a professional record of 13–7, with wins against WEC veterans Logan Clark, Eric Schambari and losses to UFC veterans Jake Hecht and Jesse Forbes, before signing with Strikeforce.

Strikeforce
Smith made his Strikeforce debut on July 22, 2011, at Strikeforce Challengers: Bowling vs. Voelker III against Ben Lagman, replacing an injured Louis Taylor. He won via KO in the second round.

Smith faced Adlan Amagov on November 18, 2011, at Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers. He lost via KO in the first round.

Smith faced Lumumba Sayers on August 18, 2012, at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman. He won via submission in the first round.

Smith faced Roger Gracie on January 12, 2013, at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine. He lost via submission in the second round.

After the end of Strikeforce, Smith moved to UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
In his debut, Smith faced Antônio Braga Neto on June 8, 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 10. He lost the fight via kneebar submission in the first round. He was subsequently released from the UFC.

Bellator MMA
On April 18, 2014, Smith made his Bellator MMA debut facing Victor Moreno at Bellator 117 winning via triangle choke submission in the second round.

Smith faced Brian Green on October 17, 2014, at Bellator 129. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Return to Ultimate Fighting Championship
On February 16, 2016, Smith was re-signed to the UFC. He faced promotional newcomer Leonardo Augusto Leleco on February 21, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 83, replacing an injured Trevor Smith. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Smith was briefly scheduled to face Scott Askham on July 8, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale. However, Askham pulled out of the bout on April 28 and was replaced by Cezar Ferreira. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Smith next faced Elvis Mutapčić on December 3, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. He won the fight via TKO in the second round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.

Smith faced Andrew Sanchez on April 15, 2017, at UFC on Fox 24. He won the fight via knockout due to a combination of knee and punches in the third round.

Smith faced Héctor Lombard on September 16, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 116. He won the fight via technical knockout in the third round.

Smith faced Thiago Santos on February 3, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 125. He lost the fight via technical knockout. Both participants received a Fight of the Night bonus.

Move to Light Heavyweight
Smith faced former champion Rashad Evans in his light heavyweight debut on June 9, 2018, at UFC 225. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

On short notice, Smith replaced Volkan Oezdemir, and faced yet another former champion in Maurício Rua on July 22, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 134 main event. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

In his third fight in five months, Smith faced Volkan Oezdemir on October 27, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 138. He won the fight by submission in the third round. This win earned him the second consecutive Performance of the Night award.

In the highest profile fight of his career, Smith faced Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on March 2, 2019, at UFC 235. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Smith faced Alexander Gustafsson on June 1, 2019, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 153. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the fourth round. The win also earned Smith a Performance of the Night bonus award.

Smith was scheduled to face Glover Teixeira on April 25, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 173. However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and rescheduled to May 13, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira. Smith lost the fight via technical knockout in the fifth round.

Smith faced Aleksandar Rakić on August 29, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 175. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Smith faced Devin Clark on November 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark. He won the fight via a triangle choke submission in the first round.

Smith faced Jimmy Crute on April 24, 2021, at UFC 261. He won the fight by technical knockout before the second round after the doctor stopped the fight when Crute suffered foot drop as a result of a leg kick from Smith and was unable to continue.

Smith faced Ryan Spann on September 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 192. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Smith faced Magomed Ankalaev on July 30, 2022, at UFC 277. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round.

Smith was scheduled to face Jamahal Hill on March 11, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 221. However, Hill was pulled from the bout after being rebooked to instead face Glover Teixeira for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 283.

Smith faced Johnny Walker on May 13, 2023, at UFC on ABC 4. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Smith faced Ryan Spann in a rematch on August 26, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 225. He won the close bout via split decision.

Smith faced Khalil Rountree Jr. on December 9, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 233, as a replacement for Azamat Murzakanov who fell ill with Pneumonia. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round three.

Smith faced Vitor Petrino on May 4, 2024, at UFC 301. He won the fight in the first round via a guillotine-choke submission.

Smith was scheduled to step in on short notice to face Carlos Ulberg on June 29, 2024, at UFC 303, as a replacement for an injured Jamahal Hill. However, one week before the event, Ulberg was forced to withdraw and was replaced by Roman Dolidze. Smith lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Professional grappling career
Smith competed against Glover Teixeira in the main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 on June 29, 2023. He lost the match by decision.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Performance of the Night (Six times) vs. Elvis Mutapčić, Maurício Rua, Volkan Oezdemir, Alexander Gustafsson, Devin Clark and Ryan Spann
 * Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Thiago Santos
 * Cage Fury Fighting Championships
 * CFFC Middleweight Championship (One time)
 * Victory Fighting Championships
 * Victory FC Middleweight Championship (One time)

Home invasion incident
At approximately 4:00 AM on April 5, 2020, an intruder gained entry to Smith's home in Nebraska through an opened garage door. Smith found him "screaming at the top of his lungs" in his computer room, and proceeded to fight the man for five minutes until the police arrived. Smith states that the intruder "took everything that I gave him – every punch, every knee, every elbow. He took every single one of them and kept fighting me", describing the ordeal "as one of the toughest fights" of his life. The man was later identified to be 21-year-old Luke Haberman, an accomplished former high school wrestler.