Anthony Smith is one of the most grizzled veterans in the UFC‘s light heavyweight division. The 35-year-old will look to use his experience against Vitor Petrino at UFC 301.
Smith is scheduled to fight Petrino on the main card of UFC 301 on 4 May 2024. The 6-4 veteran is the No.10 ranked fighter in the UFC’s 205-pound division. He is a former UFC light heavyweight title challenger who challenged the GOAT Jon Jones at UFC 235.
Lionheart began his MMA career at the age of 20. He fought for various regional promotions in the United States such as Victory FC, Cage Fury FC, Fight to Win, and RFA. He also appeared in four Strikeforce bouts, posting a 2-2 record under the organisation.
It wasn’t until he was 27 years old that Smith became a permanent member of the UFC’s roster. He began his UFC career as a middleweight and although he found success in that weight class with a 4-2 record, a 29-year-old Smith decided to move up in weight and campaign as a light heavyweight.
Smith found success in the 205-pound division. He defeated former champions Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua in his first two appearances at 205 pounds. Then after adding a third straight by defeating Volkan Oezdemir, he finally earned his first title shot. A 30-year-old Smith fought but lost to Jon Jones at UFC 235 in the only time that he’s challenged for a UFC belt.
Five years after losing to Jones, Smith is still in the UFC and is still a ranked fighter. However, he is just 5-5 in his last 10 bouts, including 1-3 in his past four. Most recently, he was knocked out by Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 233. Smith will be three months shy of his 36th birthday. That won’t be too old though for a weight class where Glover Teixeira became champion at 42 years old.