LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White had rave reviews for Anthony Smith after a crucial career victory in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 headliner.

Smith (33-16 MMA, 9-6 UFC) came into his light heavyweight main event against Devin Clark (12-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) on the heels of pair of definitive losses. He needed to rebound to prove he’s still a contender, and did as much with a first-round submission win at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

White acknowledged this was a crossroads fight for “Lionheart,” and was impressed by his response.

“He looked awesome,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC on ESPN 18. “He came in to make a statement, and message received. He looked good.”

It’s been a rough year for Smith both inside the octagon and out. He’s dealt with personal hardship, including a home invasion that put his family under the spotlight. His position in the 205-pound rankings was deterred, as well, but he showed reliance in beating Clark.

There was nothing smooth about the lead-up to this fight, though. After the original headliner between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis was called off on weigh-in day, Smith’s fight was promoted to the main event, and changed to five rounds from three.

Smith remained composed throughout all the changes, however, and did his work inside the cage when the time arrived. That’s what White wants to see out of his fighters, he said, and now things are looking up for Smith.

“These are the things you’ve got to do,” White said. “You’ll see in this business a lot, guys who try to hold their spots and not fight anybody. That ain’t the way to do it. What he did tonight, that’s the way you do it. Are you still that good? If you’re still that good, then you should go out and do what you did tonight to a guy like Devin Clark: (a) young, hungry stud who wants to work his way up and steal your spot. You’ve got to go out and make a statement, and he did that tonight. People respect that.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/11/ufc-on-espn-18-dana-white-praises-anthony-smith-message-received-submission

LAS VEGAS – It was a rough run for one of the game’s good guys.

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith lost three fights out of four, got several teeth knocked out in a loss to Glover Teixeira, had to fend off an armed intruder in his family’s home, and just generally seemed to have things go wrong.

That made not just Smith’s victory over Devin Clark in the main event of UFC on ESPN 18 on Saturday, but the manner in which he did it – a textbook head-and-arm triangle in the first round – all the more satisfying.

And though it really hasn’t been all that long, Smith (34-16 MMA, 9-6 UFC) had been through so much that he had to admit the he forget what it felt like to get his hand raised at the end of the night.

“You forget what it feels like to win,” Smith told MMA Junkie at the post-fight news conference. “I remember a loss from like ’06 as an amateur. But you do forget what it feels like to win. And I put a lot of pressure on myself. I don’t know man – it’s been a crazy goddamn year.”

Exacerbating matters in Smith’s mind was the fact that he felt both of his two most recent losses – to Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic – were bout winnable fights that slipped away.

“It hurts even more when you’re losing to people you know you can beat,” Smith said. “Had Glover been a three-round fight, I win that fight. Had I not gotten the two leg kicks and that stuff, fairly confident I beat Rakic. Both of those guys did great jobs – they’re incredible competitors. Sometimes the shoe just drops like that. But the break-in and COVID, and getting my teeth knocked out, it’s just a mess. So it feels really good to be back where I belong.”

With his 50th career fight now under his belt, Smith can look back and see how a more focused mental approach helped him get back into the win column. For all the self-doubt that came with his rough patch, it was as simple a matter as remembering what he’s capable of doing.

“You hear the whispers: ‘Where’s his head at? Is he healthy? Is he back too soon? Does he really want this? Is he too focused on the (analyst) desk? Is he worried about his pretty teeth?’” Smith said. “I hear it all. So you don’t want to prove those people right, and that’s where the pressure comes, and then it spirals down from there, because then you’re focused on everything else. (Saturday), I was just focused on reminding myself what it felt like and just going in and doing what I know I can do. I know what I’m capable of. I just have to do it.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/11/anthony-smith-admits-forget-what-it-feels-like-to-win-ufc-espn-18-video

(Courtesy of UFC)

Some of the big winners from Saturday’s UFC Vegas 15 fight card and UFC president Dana White fielded questions from the media following the event.

Former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith made quick work of Devin Clark in the fight card’s main event at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Hear what Smith had to say about the win, how tough 2020 has been, and what he plans for the future.

TRENDING UFC fighters react to Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-vegas-15-post-fight-press-conference-video

UFC president Dana White had his own event to worry about on Saturday night, but even he was tuned into the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. boxing bout that took place on pay-per-view.

Following UFC Vegas 15, which featured Anthony Smith defeating Devin Clark in the last-minute main event, White addressed the media, stating how impressed he was with how Tyson looked during the eight-round exhibition bout in Los Angeles.

“I didn’t want to say anything negative because I love Tyson and he’s a good friend of mine. I was nervous. He’s (54) years old. Time is undefeated. Time takes us all down. One of the things I was worried for Mike is that he has this incredible aura still, and (54) years old, fighting is young man’s game. All that being said, he looked f—ing awesome tonight,” White said.

“I was blown away by how good he looked. One of the things I was worried about was Roy. Roy’s 51 years old, but Roy’s been way more active than Tyson has been. But Roy actually got way more tired tonight than Mike, which was shocking. I’m happy for him. I hope they both made a f—ing zillion dollars. It exceeded my expectations.”

(Video courtesy of MMA Junkie)

TRENDING Mike Tyson shows flashes of the headhunter in unofficial draw with Roy Jones Jr.

Dana White UFC Vegas 15 post-fight highlights

• Admitted that they messed up by not awarding Deiveson Figueiredo a performance bonus at UFC 255
• “Anthony Smith came in to make a statement; message received.”
• No update on when Jan Blachowicz will fight Israel Adesanya
• “Time is undefeated. (But) Mike Tyson looked f—ing awesome.” Thought Tyson won the fight.
• Not interested in promoting Roy Jones Jr. vs. Anderson Silva boxing match
• Meeting with Khabib Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi soon, still thinks he will return to try and get 30th victory
• Hinted Michael Chandler may fight in return to Abu Dhabi in early 2021
• Said he may not go anywhere outside of Abu Dhabi for the next 12 months for international fights
• Probably returning to Abu Dhabi in January for a three-fight run over eight days to be International Fight Week

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-says-mike-tyson-looked-f-ing-awesome-targets-ufc-fight-island-for-international-fight-week-on

By Simon Head
November 28, 2020 2:00 pm

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Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/11/video-inside-lfa-recapping-alex-oliveira-stunning-debut