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Anthony Smith will return to action this weekend. He'll headline UFC Vegas 37 against Ryan Spann.
The majority of today’s UFC stars have nicknames. While some monikers simply don’t fit the fighter that they’re assigned to, others make total sense. One such example is Anthony Smith, who is known as ‘Lionheart’.
Smith’s ‘Lionheart’ moniker is much more than just a nickname. He’s proven his insane toughness time and time again in the octagon. If he can pull off a win this weekend, there’s a chance he could find himself in title contention again.
But with Spann’s heavy handed style, it could well be that ‘Lionheart’ has to dig deep in order to get the result that he needs.
With that in mind, here are five times that Anthony Smith lived up to his ‘Lionheart’ nickname in the UFC.
#5. Stepping up to headline a UFC show on a day’s notice – Anthony Smith vs. Devin Clark
Anthony Smith has been involved in headline bouts in seven of his last eight visits to the octagon. But his most recent main event came under totally unexpected circumstances.
UFC Vegas 15 was initially expected to be headlined by a heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. Smith wasn’t originally booked to compete at the event at all.
However, with around a month to go, ‘Lionheart’ stepped in to replace Shamil Gamzatov in a clash with Devin Clark. The bout was pegged to act as the show’s co-main event.
With less than 24 hours remaining before showtime, though, Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19 and was immediately removed from the card. That meant the UFC needed a new main event. And naturally, they turned to Smith and Clark.
Not only did the light heavyweight contenders agree to serve as the headliners for the event, but they also agreed to turn their planned three-round bout into a five-rounder. The prospect of extra rounds undoubtedly put both men under immense pressure.
Many fighters would simply have buckled under that kind of stress, particularly when you consider that Smith hadn’t even completed a full training camp for the fight. But ‘Lionheart’ once again proved he was made of sterner stuff. He needed just over two-and-a-half minutes to submit ‘The Brown Bear’ with a first-round triangle choke.
The win was Smith’s first since 2019. It proved that not only was he still a very dangerous contender at 205 pounds, but that he was willing to bail the UFC out at the last minute, too.
#4. Pushing through a horrific beatdown – Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira
Anthony Smith is tough. Sometimes, as the old adage goes, a fighter can be considered too tough for their own good. This saying was largely the first thing that came to mind following Anthony Smith’s crazy clash with Glover Teixeira. The fight was the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in May 2020.
There was plenty at stake when the two light heavyweights clashed. The winner was expected to move into UFC title contention. Early on, it looked like that winner would be Smith.
‘Lionheart’ pushed an insane pace in the first round, hammering Teixeira with his strikes and putting the Brazilian veteran firmly on the retreat. In particular, his jab worked excellently. It marked Teixeira up and seemingly forcing him to rethink his entire gameplan.
However, while it seemed like only a matter of time before Smith found the killer blow, Teixeira proved to be more durable than ‘Lionheart’ had perhaps figured. And by the third round, Smith began to slow down, allowing Teixeira to take over, particularly on the ground.
The Brazilian began to put a horrendous beating on Smith with brutal punches and elbows from the top, but somehow ‘Lionheart’ survived.
Unfortunately, the beating only became worse in the fourth round, with Teixeira even apologizing for what he was doing. Naturally though, Smith simply responded by telling him "it is what it is." And when the round ended with Smith telling his corner that he’d lost multiple teeth, fans expected the fight to be stopped.
Incredibly, though, the action continued into the fifth, where Teixeira finally mustered up enough offense to force the referee to call a halt to proceedings.
Anthony Smith had lost in genuinely brutal fashion. But by absorbing some of the most violent punishment in UFC history, he gained far more fans than he lost and lived up to his ‘Lionheart’ nickname.
#3. Defeating the hometown hero – Anthony Smith vs. Alexander Gustafsson
After coming up short in his unexpected UFC title challenge against Jon Jones, few fans anticipated Anthony Smith to stick around at the top of the light heavyweight division.
And when he was signed to fight former title challenger Alexander Gustafsson in the Swede’s home town of Stockholm, everyone figured that ‘The Mauler’ would be in for an impressive homecoming victory. However, ‘Lionheart’ had other ideas. That was despite an entire country basically being against him for the night.
Anthony Smith came out looking to surprise Gustafsson by pushing a torrid pace. He managed to win the first two rounds with his crisp striking, keeping the Swede on the back foot. But in the third round, Gustafsson turned the tide by hurting ‘Lionheart’ with a heavy jab and a body kick, to the point that Smith narrowly survived.
It looked like he would probably fall prey to Gustafsson in the fourth round. But incredibly, Smith surprised everyone by securing a takedown on ‘The Mauler’ before taking his back. And before Gustafsson could really respond, ‘Lionheart’ smashed him with some elbows to the head. He then slapped on a rear-naked choke, forcing Gustafsson to tap out.
The win was arguably the biggest of Anthony Smith’s career. The fact that he did it in Gustafsson’s home town after weathering a storm made it even better. The gutsy performance once again proved that he’d earned his nickname.
#2. Pulling off a genuinely miraculous comeback – Anthony Smith vs. Hector Lombard
Prior to rising to UFC title contention at 205 pounds, Anthony Smith was largely considered a journeyman middleweight who would usually lose against top-level opposition.
That all changed when he fought former Bellator middleweight kingpin Hector Lombard at UFC Fight Night 116 in 2017. Lombard had his back to the wall after suffering three straight losses, but he was still favored to beat Anthony Smith. 'Lionheart' had just three UFC victories to his name at that point.
And early on, it looked clear why Lombard was the favorite. He took the fight to Smith in the opening round, dropping him with an uppercut. He outright knocked Smith across the octagon with a right hand minutes later.
But Anthony Smith showed his toughness and heart and managed to survive. He then absorbed more punishment in the second round, while also landing a fair number of shots of his own. By the third round, Lombard was clearly ahead but appeared to be fading. ‘Lionheart’, meanwhile, despite taking some serious damage, was still fresh.
And when the stanza began, suddenly it was Smith on the offensive, pushing forward and forcing Lombard back with his strikes. Eventually, a straight right hand connected with the Cuban’s jaw, and where Smith was able to take the best Lombard had to offer, the same could not be said in reverse.
Lombard dropped to the ground and a few shots from Smith sealed a huge victory for him. Given that his reputation prior to this fight was that of a glass cannon, this was a huge win for the future title challenger. The victory more than earned him his ‘Lionheart’ moniker.
#1. Refusing to take an easy victory – Anthony Smith vs. Jon Jones
Reaching the top of the mountain in the UFC is an impossible task for most fighters. Gaining a shot at UFC gold, even in a losing effort, will usually represent the pinnacle of a career in MMA.
With that in mind, naturally, you’d expect any fighter given a clear chance to actually claim a UFC title to take it without a second thought. At UFC 235, Anthony Smith was given such a chance. He could’ve taken an easy, albeit questionable, victory over Jon Jones and become the UFC light heavyweight champion, if only for a short time.
Incredibly, though, he refused to take the easy way out. He arguably gained more respect because of it.
Smith was never expected to beat Jones, who’d held the title for the best part of a decade by the time of their meeting. He’d earned a shot at the gold with some impressive wins. But essentially, ‘Lionheart’ felt like just another easy win for one of the all-time greats.
And sure enough, while Smith proved to be tough enough to survive, for the first three and a half rounds, he could do nothing against Jones. 'Bones' won basically every moment of the fight.
But as the fourth round ticked away, it looked like Jones was becoming frustrated with his inability to finish Smith. And so he threw a brutal and illegal knee to Smith’s head, leaving him folded up against the fence.
Referee Herb Dean immediately stepped in to call a halt to the fight. Had Anthony Smith simply stayed down and refused to continue, Jones would’ve been disqualified. That would have made ‘Lionheart’ the new champion.
However, living up to his nickname, Smith refused to take the easy way out. He kept fighting until the main event bout went the distance, with Jones winning a decision. A different character almost certainly would’ve milked the knee and taken the victory, but they probably would’ve lost a lot of respect in the process.
By doing it another way, not only did Anthony Smith prove his moniker correct, he also showed himself to be a truly classy fighter.
