Anthony Smith has 'never been so happy' to see fighter unconscious than after comeback win

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – To be blunt, things weren’t going well for Anthony Smith on Saturday night, and he knew it.

“I knew that I needed a finish,” Smith told MMAjunkie following his UFC on FOX 24 win. “My coaches don’t – no one lies to me. They told me going into the third I was down two, and I needed a finish.”

Indeed, all three judges had awarded his opponent, Andrew Sanchez (9-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC), the first two rounds of their UFC Fight Pass-stream prelim bout at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. Smith (27-12 MMA, 3-2 UFC) needed to make something happen if he hoped to walk away with the win.

“He kept throwing that overhand right and kept hitting me with it,” Smith said. “The reason he kept hitting me with it is because an overhand right and a takedown look the same at the beginning of it. So I would be expecting the takedown, and he was throwing the punch.”

But in the third, Smith said he could tell Sanchez was starting to slow. Instead of attacking, Sanchez was willing to retreat and circle away. Smith’s corner saw an opening, and “Lionheart” listened to their instructions.

“They said, ‘Throw up the right head kick and see what happens,'” Smith recalled. “It worked out perfectly.”

Indeed, Smith’s knee connected to his opponent’s head, sending Sanchez crashing to the floor. Smith followed with punches on the floor to seal the result.

“The feeling when that was over was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life,” Smith said. “You tell yourself all the time, ‘You know, no matter what happens in the fight, I’ll get through it.’ But you don’t always know that for sure. A lot of guys say that, but I proved a lot to myself.

“I’ve never been so happy to see someone unconscious in my whole life. Like, ‘Thank God this guy is out.'”

Smith praised Sanchez’s toughness and admitted “El Dirte” pushed him to the brink. But Smith said he thrives on that type of pressure.

Currently challenged in his personal life with his mom battling health issues in the hospital, he was challenged in his professional life, as well, on Saturday night. Smith passed the test with flying colors, living up to his “Lionheart” moniker.

“I am unshakeable,” Smith said. “You’re never going to (expletive) shake me. You’re never going to break me. I’m never going to quit. That whole fight was a culmination of that – just visibly proving that you’re never going to break me. I’m never going to quit.

“I earned my nickname a long time ago, and it was performances like this that did it. It’s not the prettiest. It’s definitely not going to scare anybody in the division, but Andrew Sanchez has been talking about trying to get a top-10 dude. I just put him away.

“In this sport, (expletive) doesn’t always go your way. Sometimes, you just go in there and you have an off night. I think I had a little bit of an off night tonight, a little bit of a slow start. But I just can feel it my heart. I know I’m going to be a world champion someday. No one’s going to tell me any different.”

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