Anthony Smith Gets Brutally Honest After UFC Charlotte Loss To Johnny Walker

UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith keeps it real on his future.

Fernando Quiles Jr. | May 17, 2023

(via Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)

Anthony Smith has spoken out following his UFC Charlotte loss to Johnny Walker.

Smith and Walker shared the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC on ABC 4. It was a pivotal fight in the 205-pound division, as "Lionheart" was hoping to hold off Walker to maintain his number five spot on the official UFC light heavyweight rankings.

Ultimately, Walker got the better of Smith en route to a unanimous decision win. With the loss, Smith now falls two spots down to the number seven position on the rankings.

During an edition of "Bisping & Smith's BYM Podcast," the UFC light heavyweight revealed whether or not he will be retiring from pro MMA competition.

"First of all, I'm not retiring," Smith said. "That's not happening, not like that. That's for sure, I'm not going out like that. I still have it. There's some problems that I gotta fix for sure, but I don't know. It's definitely not gonna happen like that. It's not gonna be on a whim."

Some fans watching UFC Charlotte assumed that Smith was ready to retire since he took his gloves off inside the Octagon. Smith explained why he removed his gloves once the fight was over.

"It's not the first time I've taken my gloves off in the cage before. It's very documented, I've had lots of hand injuries. The gloves and the hand wraps bother me. They cramp my hands, they're tight, they hold them open. It's just they bother my hands."

In terms of what he needs to do going forward, Smith mentioned the one weakness in his game that must be addressed.

"There is a glaring hole in my game," Smith said. "It's the leg kicks. It's become a liability at this point."

"Lionheart" now finds himself on a two-fight skid. His last victory was back in September 2021. What's next for Smith inside the Octagon remains to be seen, but he's hoping to fix the perceived hole in his game before throwing leather once again.

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Published May 17, 2023

FERNANDO QUILES JR.

Fernando has over a decade of combat sports news writing experience. He currently covers MMA, boxing, and pro wrestling. Fernando joined MMA Knockout as the Lead Writer/Editor when it was founded in 2023.