Months on from his sole UFC title shot against Jon Jones, Anthony Smith recorded one of the biggest wins of his career on this day in 2019.
2025 will go down as the year in which Smith retired from mixed martial arts, bringing an end to a tenure in the sport spanning 17 years.
‘Lionheart’ competed 60 times as a professional, sharing the cage with the likes of Hector Lombard, Rashad Evans, and Mauricio Rua.
The highest stakes for the Texas native came six years ago, when Smith challenged Jones at UFC 235 for the light heavyweight title.
Smith was soundly beaten on the scorecards after five rounds of action, but it didn’t take him long to return to the winners’ circle in the UFC.
Anthony Smith made Alexander Gustafsson tap out in his first fight since loss to Jon Jones
On June 1, 2019, three months after his failed title bid, Smith headed into enemy territory to headline UFC Stockholm against Swedish fan favorite Alexander Gustafsson.
‘The Mauler’ was also among Jones’ victims. After first losing a Hall of Fame-worthy clash against ‘Bones’ in 2013, Gustafsson was stopped by Jones at UFC 232 in 2018.
At UFC Stockholm, like Smith, Gustafsson was also making his first appearance since losing to the GOAT contender.
Following a strong start for the underdog, the Swedish favorite began to take over in round three and came close to finishing the fight.
But out of nowhere, the fourth frame saw Smith shock the crowd at the Ericsson Globe by submitting Gustafsson with a rear-naked choke.
The result temporarily kept Smith’s name in title contention and ensured that he’d leave Stockholm with a Performance of the Night bonus.
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Anthony Smith had the chance to become a UFC champion
While Smith traveled to Europe in need of a rebound result after losing to Jones, things were almost significantly different.
Jones had almost everything his own way at UFC 235, but the Rochester native came close to blowing his light heavyweight reign when he threw an illegal knee at Smith’s head.
The move initially created fears of a title changing hands via disqualification, but ‘Lionheart’ chose against that potential path and opted to fight on, a decision the challenger was widely praised for.
That ultimately meant Smith’s career came to an end without a UFC championship on his résumé.
‘Lionheart’ officially hung up the gloves at UFC Kansas City in May, where he was brutally stopped by Zhang Mingyang to extend his losing skid to three.