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Anthony Smith On Retirement Fight Coming Against Unranked KO Artist: ‘I Was Very Shocked’

While initially surprised by the matchup chosen to be his last, UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith says he now understands it. Smith announced his plans for one final farewell fight on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage after falling to a third loss in his last four fights in December 2024. He was knocked out by […]

While initially surprised by the matchup chosen to be his last, UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith says he now understands it.

Smith announced his plans for one final farewell fight on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage after falling to a third loss in his last four fights in December 2024. He was knocked out by Dominick Reyes at UFC 310, a result that came five months on from another setback to middleweight contender Roman Dolidze.

With that, 2025 will mark the year in which “Lionheart” retires. And he’ll do so opposite a curious choice of opposition.

It was recently announced that Smith will hang up the gloves at UFC Kansas City this coming April, where he’ll meet an opponent who rides a streak of 11 first-round finishes in the form of Chinese prospect Zhang Mingyang.

During the latest episode of his On Paper podcast, Smith admitted to being “shocked” at first when the bout was presented to him. But while many see him as the UFC’s sacrificial lamb as the promotion looks to build the “Mountain Tiger,” the 36-year-old former title challenger doesn’t see it that way.

“I didn’t have any suggestions, but I was very shocked with the matchup, for sure,” Smith said. “That wasn’t a bad thing, I just was not expecting that one, but once I kind of looked into him a little bit and sat on it, it makes a lot of sense why they would go in that direction.

“I have a lot of conversations with these guys — and if they did (book the fight for Zhang to win), they’re probably not going to tell me — but Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have always told me that they don’t care who wins. They want good fights. They want interesting matchups. And they put people in positions and it’s up to you to do what you what you do with it,” Smith continued. “Of course, we can think of people that were favorably matched and put in some better positions than others, but I’ve known Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby and those guys a really long time and they’ve always been pretty straight-up with me, even in times that I don’t like it.”

UFC Kansas City remains without a main event as of now, but names like Giga Chikadze, Michel Pereira, and Ikram Aliskerov are among those slated to join Smith’s retirement fight on the April 26 lineup.

UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: UFC Seattle Card Undergoes Major Changes

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to upcoming fight cards. With events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week. Between Monday, February 10, and Sunday, […]

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to upcoming fight cards.

With events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.

Between Monday, February 10, and Sunday, February 16, a number of fights were made official by the UFC or reported as being in the works by reputable sources.

For those matchups, including the planned main event for the Apex on April 5, check out the list below:

Fireworks expected as Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy is targeted to headline UFC Fight Night event on April 5.

(Via @MikeHeck_JR & @DamonMartin) pic.twitter.com/lyKRlXxQgg

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) February 12, 2025

But it wasn’t all positive, with four fights falling through or being adjusted:

Joaquin Buckley Calls Out Kamaru Usman for April Clash in Kansas City: “Let Me Get a Former Champ.”

After earning the biggest win of his career in December, Joaquin Buckley has his sights set on a former…

After earning the biggest win of his career in December, Joaquin Buckley has his sights set on a former world champion.

‘New Mansa’ extended his unbeaten streak to six with a dominant doctor’s stoppage TKO against Colby Covington at UFC Tampa.

Now, Buckley is lobbying for a fight with the man who beat ‘Chaos’ twice inside the Octagon — former UFC welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman. During a recent interview with Parry Punch, Buckley called for a clash with Usman, suggesting the two could headline the UFC’s return to Kansas City on April 26.

“I would like a former champion on my resume and would be Kamaru be it, right? Got Colby, right? Interim champ,” Buckley said. “But I’m like, let me get a former champ too. And somebody that was decorated to the point where they thought he was gonna be the welterweight GOAT at some point in his career. Let me go ahead, get him up out of there, get busy with him, and then go get my belt, right?

“Because I feel like it’s the names, right? Kamaru Usman just saw that, and he knows he’s next. We headline anyway.
I heard something special is going on in Kansas.”

Thus far, six fights have been announced for the Fight Night card in the Heart of America, but no main event.

Is joaquin buckley in consideration for kamaru usman’s return opponent?

While Buckley has been busy working his way up the contender’s ladder, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ has been sitting on the sidelines after suffering his third-straight loss against Khamzat Chimaev in October 2023.

The majority decision defeat against ‘Borz’ came after Usman had already fallen twice against ex-champ Leon Edwards—dropping his 170-pound crown to ‘Rocky’ before failing to reclaim it in a rematch the following year.

Despite his inactivity, Usman has remained adamant about returning to the Octagon before calling it a career. Previously, he’s floated the idea of fighting names like Ian Machado Garry, Jack Della Maddalena, and, of course, reigning welterweight king Belal Muhammad. However, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ did leave the door open for a potential move to middleweight, if the fight is right.

“It’s an interesting spot. I’ve never been in a spot like this… For me, I made my career being a welterweight…. But, for the right fight, middleweight makes sense,” Usman said on the Anik & Florian podcast last summer.

UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: Potential No. 1 Contender Fight For Zhang Weili’s Title Booked

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to upcoming fight cards.

With events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.

Between Monday, February 3, and Sunday, February 9, a number of fights were made official by the UFC or reported as being in the works by reputable sources.

For those matchups, including one that could determine the next challenger to UFC 312 winner Zhang Weili’s strawweight title, check out the list below:

. @VirnaJandiroba recebeu o que pediu. Em boa fase no #UFC, a brasileira desafiou Yan Xiaonan para uma luta e teve a aprovação da companhia. A veterana do #MMA vai enfrentar a chinesa em abril. pic.twitter.com/Sr5YtmgVmf

— Ag. Fight (@AgFight) January 24, 2025

But it wasn’t all positive, with two fights falling through or being adjusted:

Max Holloway plans UFC lightweight move after winning another featherweight title: ‘Why not?’

Former featherweight champion, Max Holloway has confirmed he will make a move to the UFC’s lightweight division before calling time on his Octagon tenure, however, plans to make the move when he becomes featherweight titleholder again. Holloway, a former undisputed featherweight champion under the banner of the UFC, headlined UFC Fight Night Kansas City earlier […]

Holloway, a former undisputed featherweight champion under the banner of the UFC, headlined UFC Fight Night Kansas City earlier this month against the surging, Arnold Allen – handing the Ipswich native his first promotional loss in a comprehensive unanimous decision victory.

Retaining his rank as the #2 rated featherweight in the promotion’s ranks, Holloway has offered to fight former two-time title challenger, Chan Sung Jung later this year – with the South Korean native welcoming a potential showdown ahead of a return to Sydney, Australia for the organization later this year.

Max Holloway still planning future lightweight move

Confirming plans to make a lightweight return following a brief interim title rematch with Dustin Poirier back in 2019, Holloway claimed he would consider a return to 155lbs, after he lands a featherweight championship again, firstly.

“It’s always good to go up a weight class with a belt, so that’s the plan,” Max Holloway told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “And if they [the UFC] thought so – that maybe we couldn’t do a fourth [fight] with Volk (Alexander Volkanovski) – I think they would’ve really pressed the issue with us and told us, ‘Look, you’ve got to go.’ But, we’re here, they’re feeding me contenders. So at the end of the day, we’re going to just keep knocking them down.”

“One-hundred percent,” Max Holloway said of a lightweight move. “Why not? I mean, why not? We’ll see what happens with [Volkanovski] when they’re (Volkanovski and Yair Rodríguez] fighting in July now with Yair. I think a lot of people are counting out Yair. I think it’s going to be a much more interesting fight than a lot of people think it is. We get to be a fan that night, so I’m excited.”

Max Holloway reveals he has reintroduced sparring as part of his training following UFC Kansas City win

Former UFC featherweight champion, Max Holloway stated that he has now reincorporated sparring back into training. Just under two weeks ago, Holloway earned yet another impressive victory over a rising featherweight contender. ‘Blessed’ took on surging UK prospect Arnold Allen, ultimately proving too much for Allen and would outpoint the Englishman over five rounds. While […]

Former UFC featherweight champion, Max Holloway stated that he has now reincorporated sparring back into training.

Just under two weeks ago, Holloway earned yet another impressive victory over a rising featherweight contender. ‘Blessed’ took on surging UK prospect Arnold Allen, ultimately proving too much for Allen and would outpoint the Englishman over five rounds.

While the win further cemented Holloway as the second-best 145er’ in the world, it also added to the Hawaii native’s record in both strikes landed and strikes absorbed. While Holloway has landed a total of 3122 significant strikes, over 1300 more than Frankie Edgar who is in second, Holloway has also been hit with more than 1,300.

While this is certainly a lot, Holloway’s chin is yet to crack and this could be due to the fact, a few years ago he announced that he no longer sparred in his camps. This first started during the covid-19 pandemic when Holloway would train via Zoom, and still picked up impressive wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez.

Max Holloway reverses sparring decision

Talking on The MMA Hour, Holloway revealed that began sparring again, but only out of camp.

“I spar outside of camp, so I don’t spar inside of camp,” said Holloway. “Most of my injuries came from sparring, and it would be when I was getting scrawny and stuff. Half the time they would give me this look and [my opponent] would mix it up in the fight.” (H/T MMANews)

Holloway now finds himself in a difficult position, having lost three fights to current champion Alexander Volkanovski, but seems to also be a step ahead of the other contenders in the division.

Max Holloway taking on the MMA Hour following his win over Arnold Allen

What would you like to see Max Holloway do next?