Anthony Smith failed to revamp his winning run in the UFC as he endured yet another defeat against Mingyang Zhang at UFC Kansas City. This loss marked ‘Lionheart’s’ third consecutive defeat in the UFC.
Furthermore, the scenes after Smith’s fight indicated that the 36-year-old called the curtains to his prolonged career in the promotion.
Anthony Smith’s Octagon Interview Revealed His Decision To Retire
Anthony Smith made his UFC debut in 2016 following his time in a few other noted MMA promotions, including Strikeforce and Bellator. The 37-22 pro-MMA record-holding fighter had been struggling to find his form in recent times.
Smith stepped into the UFC Kansas City Octagon with a 2-3 record in his last five encounters. He enjoyed a few moments of success with his hands at the beginning of his recently concluded encounter against Zhang. But his Chinese rival soon took the upper hand in the fight with his well-rounded striking, including knees. Zhang strengthened his grip on the battle with every passing second. One of his elbows opened up a gnarly cut on Smith’s head.
‘Lionheart’s’ subsequent attempt to disrupt Zhang’s momentum with a takedown backfired as he ended up at the bottom. Smith looked too burnt out to fight back after absorbing a few grounded strikes, which caused referee Jason Herzog to call an end to the encounter.
A moment of untowardness followed the fight as Smith lost his cool and tried to confront someone in the crowd who kept bad-mouthing him. Eventually, his Octagon interview with Paul Felder revealed the announcement of his retirement from the UFC.
Smith said, “I want to thank every single one of you guys. Throughout my entire career, the Midwest specifically has had my back. I made a home here in Kansas City in the fight game. I absolutely love every one of you. I want to thank Dana, Hunter, Sean Shelby for dragging me out of the depths of nowhere when I was cut from Strikeforce.”
Smith also expressed his gratitude towards all the off-camera members of the UFC, along with mentioning how fighting had touched his life. He stated, “When I started this game, I was homeless, I had nothing going for me. And now this platform has allowed me to raise my family, my four beautiful daughters, and give them a life that I’ve never been able to have. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.”
The UFC brass honored Smith’s contribution with a tribute video featuring a compilation of several noteworthy moments of his pro-MMA career.
‘Lionheart’s’ UFC career ended with him laying down the gloves in the center of the octagon, and walking out of the cage with his team and family.