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#3 Anthony Smith
With three wins and one loss in 2018, Anthony "Lionheart" Smith takes the No. 3 spot in our list of best fighters of 2018.
Anthony Smith has had a meteoric rise in 2018, going up from an unranked and unknown fighter to becoming the No. 3 ranked contender at Light Heavyweight.
And to top it off, Lionheart has done it with style, finishing all of his wins in 2018 with two knockouts and one submission.
Anthony Smith began 2018 on rocky roads as he lost his first fight in the year to Thiago Santos at Middleweight.
Smith was always too big for 185 lbs and following his loss to Santos, he decided to move up to 205 lbs which might have been the best decision he has made in his career.
Lionheart has looked like a different beast at Light Heavyweight and he proved his mettle as he faced the former champ, Rashad Evans, his first fight at 205 lbs.
The two collided back in June at UFC 225 and Smith made quick work of Evans as he knocked the veteran out cold with a single knee strike just 50 seconds into the first round. Anthony Smith had a quick turn around and fought another legend and former champion Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua in July.
Shogun vs Smith was set as the main event for UFC Fight Night 134: Hamburg. Smith rose to the occasion of his first main event and finished Shogun Rua with devastating elbows in just 90 seconds of the first round.
Following his win over Shogun Rua, Smith was offered yet another main event fight against the Swiss knockout machine and former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Fight Night: Moncton.
Volkan was expected to put a brake to the hype of Anthony Smith but he too fell to the thunderous power and a deep well-rounded game of Smith.
Lionheart beat Volkan up and finally submitted him in the third round to take the win and also the No. 3 spot at Light Heavyweight.
Anthony Smith has been making a lot of noise and has been delivering some remarkable performances in 2018.
With Smith positioned right at the top of the Light Heavyweight division mountain, a title fight against the winner of Jones vs Gustaffson seems very likely. Look out for Anthony Smith to be one of the premier stars for the UFC in 2019 as well.
