During his last night at work, Anthony Smith found the approval he had been seeking for his entire career.
Smith concluded his professional MMA career at the UFC Kansas City event on April 26th. “Lion Heart” shared Octagon with Zhang Mingyang inside the T-Mobile Center. Smith stopped in the first round via TKO and ended his award-winning career in defeat.
“Lionheart” did not win in his final match, but he found what he was looking for throughout his MMA journey.
Related: Michael Bispin responds to Anthony Smith’s loss in his retirement match at UFC Kansas City
Anthony Smith’s companion gave him his flowers
When he appeared on SiriusXM’s “MMA Today,” Anthony Smith said he always wanted to win the UFC title because of his recognition that his career was worth it. He never caught UFC Gold, but he got the approval he was looking for (via Mmafighting).
“And that meant a lot to me. As I was getting ready to walk, I was at the check-in station, I got some petroleum jelly, they checked me, I went up the stairs, I turned around, and the Dana fighting section section was up and everyone was on my feet.
“I got acknowledgments from my peers. And UFC and ESPN, video packages, jelly rolls, it was cool, you were there (Dinthomas), Rashad (Evans), Glover (Teishaila), people I admire most, Laura (Sanko), (John) Annick, I think it was. It’s gotten better.”
UFC Production Track aired a special tribute video for Smith, once the final battle of MMA’s career was over. That’s where the aforementioned praises from others from Rashad Evans and Glover Teisheira emerged.
