Anthony Smith News

Tom Taylor - July 23, 2018

When Anthony Smith knocked out former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of UFC Hamburg on Sunday, he established himself as one of the top contenders in the UFC light heavyweight division. Unfortunately, he feels the division is a bit of a disaster at present. Really, it’s easy to understand where Smith is coming from with these comments.

Tom Taylor - July 23, 2018

On Sunday afternoon, Anthony Smith dispatched of another MMA legend, clubbing former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua with first-round strikes in the UFC Hamburg main event. In the wake of this incredible knockout, Smith could have called out pretty much anybody, from Corey Anderson, who won in the UFC Hamburg co-main event, to Jimi Manuwa, who sat cage-side for the card. Instead of calling out either of these men, however, he targeted a showdown with top light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson, who he said he was willing to fight on two weeks notice at UFC 227 on August 4.

Tom Taylor - July 22, 2018

On Sunday afternoon, in the main event of UFC Hamburg, former middleweight contender Anthony Smith took his second fight in the UFC light heavyweight division. This fight, which followed a first-round slaughter of former champ Rashad Evans in June, saw him step in to replace Volkan Oezdemir against another former champ in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. For fans of the legendary Shogun, this one was not pretty. For fans of the surging Anthony Smith, it couldn’t have been more beautiful.

Tom Taylor - July 22, 2018

The UFC Hamburg main event occurred at light heavyweight, where former champion and MMA legend Mauricio Shogun Rua looked to extend his streak to four-straight, and perhaps earn himself a light heavyweight title shot. His adversary in this high stakes challenge was fearsome contender Anthony Smith, who stepped in to replace Volkan Oezdemir on short notice. To say Anthony Smith rose to the occasion would be a mammoth understatement.

Drake Riggs - July 20, 2018

“I’m in, man [to fill in at UFC 227 for Volkan Oezdemir]. I got a pretty tall task ahead of me, ya know, with [Mauricio] ‘Shogun’ [Rua]. But if it goes well and I get out of there uninjured, I have no problem leaving here and going straight to LA. I’m in.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2018

Daniel Cormier, who now owns the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight titles, recently stated that he’d like to squeeze in a light heavyweight title defense before he defends his heavyweight title against Brock Lesnar in the new year. Specifically, Cormier is interested in defending his light heavyweight belt against former champion and MMA legend Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Shogun, of course, is scheduled for a fight with the extremely dangerous Anthony Smith this weekend, yet Cormier didn’t mention Smith’s name. Initially, Smith was pretty disappointed with the way Cormier ignored him, but now, he feels as though Cormier has added to the stakes of his fight with Shogun

Tom Taylor - July 13, 2018

The biggest fight on UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier’s horizon is a showdown with former heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar. That said, Lesnar isn’t likely to be available until at least January, which has Cormier considering a light heavyweight title defense in the meantime — against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. “Maybe I’ll go fight Shogun, that would be good,” Cormier said on a recent episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “I am serious, maybe I will go fight Shogun. He has won a lot of fights in a row.”

Drake Riggs - July 2, 2018

Earlier today, it was announced that Volkan Oezdemir would be backing out of his UFC Hamburg headliner with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Why did he back out? To take a higher profile bout with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 227 on August 4th in Los Angeles.