Even before stepping into the Octagon at UFC 310, Anthony Smith knew it was going to be a rough night.
Ahead of Smith’s light heavyweight showdown against Dominick Reyes, ‘Lionheart’ was dealt another heartbreaking blow, learning that his longtime friend and coach Scott Morton had unexpectedly passed away due to a heart attack. He was 47.
Despite the loss, Smith opted to move forward with the fight because he knew that’s what his mentor would have wanted. Unfortunately, Smith’s heart just wasn’t in it. He ultimately lost the bout via a second-round TKO, leading many to speculate that this could be the one-time title challenger’s final stand inside the Octagon.
“I’ve had a lot of loss the last four years,” told Din Thomas on MMA on SiriusXM. “Both my parents. My closest aunt and uncle died within three weeks of each other. They can all stay gone if I could get Scotty back. I’ve never felt grief like this and I was raised by a single mom. It’s f*cking crazy. It’s different. I’ve never experienced it. I handle things really well. I’m a f*cking gangster. I just power through it, but this one is tough.
“I’ve never struggled like this before. When I got to the fight, I knew right away it was f*cked. I knew right away, as soon as I got to the arena.”
“I’ve never felt grief like this ever…I’ve never struggled like this before.”
Anthony Smith candidly speaks about dealing with the loss of his friend, training partner, and coach Scott Morton ahead of #UFC310
Source: MMA Today w/@DinThomas & Anthony Smith pic.twitter.com/hVW5YmLXvl
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) December 11, 2024
During the UFC 310 post-fight press conference, Reyes revealed that at one point during the contest, Smith dropped his hands and asked ‘The Dominator’ to hit him so that he could “feel something.”
Smith addressed his odd request, revealing what was going through his mind at that moment.
“I got impatient,” Smith said. “I just wanted something to f*cking happen. I just forced it. I just got impatient. Nothing was happening. He wasn’t engaging. I’d seen everything. That was the worst part, too. I was in there, and I was like, ‘Goddamn, you’re not that good.’ And then it hit me like, ‘F*ck, maybe I’m not either.’
“Maybe I’m not either anymore. The left hand wasn’t nearly as fast as I expected it to be. I think I over-predicted how good he was going to be on his feet. He landed a shot here or there, and then at some point where I was like, ‘F*cking hit me or something. I need to f*cking feel something. Give me something here.’”
Anthony Smith Leaves the Door Open for One More Fight
With Smith losing three of his last four and dropping to 13-11 under the UFC banner, many have been calling for ‘Lionheart’ to lay down his gloves, including Dana White. Addressing his future in the sport, Smith recognizes that it may be time to finally call it quits, but he’s hoping to bring his family and team together for one final fight week before making the switch from full-time fighter to full-time analyst.
“There’s a circumstance that probably exists where I would do one more,” Smith said. “I think that’s probably the answer. It would have to be the perfect scenario, timing, opponent, and situation. … I know there’s like never the perfect sendoff for the most part. I hadn’t even thought about it before this fight.
“But having the opportunity to have all the people that supported me, give them the opportunity to come one last time and experience fight week knowing it’s the last time, being able to tell everyone in that process what they meant to me over all these years, like one final flight. Win, lose or draw, who gives a f*ck? But one final sendoff would be cool, I think.”
Check out Smith’s emotional speech immediately following his loss at UFC 310 below:
