Light heavyweight standout Johnny Walker congratulated Anthony Smith on his return to the win column at UFC Singapore, but once again made it clear that he in no way attacked his family.
On Saturday, ‘Lionheart’ snapped a two-fight losing skid after scoring a closely contested split decision victory over Ryan Spann. It was Smith’s second victory over Spann, having earned a first-round submission against ‘Superman’ in 2021. The win will no doubt help erase the bad taste left in Smith’s mouth after delivering a lackluster performance against rising contender Johnny Walker earlier this year.
Walker had a dominant performance against Smith in May, but much of his victory was overshadowed by a very strange accusation that ‘Lionheart’ made during their UFC on ABC 4 scrap.
During the second round of the bout, Anthony Smith could be heard telling Walker, “You’re attacking my family.” A confused Walker said, “What?” before Smith repeated his statement.
Johnny Walker Recalls Awkward Exchange with Anthony Smith
Taking to social media following Smith’s win inside Singapore Indoor Stadium, Johnny Walker congratulated his former foe online and reassured Smith that he never attacked his family.
“Congratulations @lionheartasmith for the win, but I didn’t attack your family I promise you,” Walker wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
To this day, the motivation behind Smith’s statement is unclear, but many believe that it could have been ‘Lionheart’ using a terrifying moment from his life to help get him in a mindset to fight inside the Octagon.
Appearing on the Believe You Me podcast with Michael Bisping not long after the loss to Johnny Walker, Smith detailed an incident where he and his family were the victims of a home invasion. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and the intruder was taken into custody, but fight fans believe that ‘Lionheart’ could still be suffering PTSD from the incident with many pointing to the video clip below: