One of the most tenured fighters in the UFC, Anthony Smith (38-21 MMA, 13-11 UFC) is set to make his 25th walk to the Octagon at UFC Kansas City on April 26th.
"Lionheart" is set to square off against Mingyang Zhang (18-6 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and the former light heavyweight title challenger will be eager to get back to winning ways following a challenging past few months.
38-year-old Smith has been defeated in 3 of his last 4 fights and suffered a personal tragedy in the lead up to his December bout against Dominick Reyes when he received news that his long-time coach and friend Scott Morton had passed away.
“Him and I have trained every day or twice a day, damn near on average, six days a week since I was 17 years old,” said Smith of Morton while speaking to UFC.com. “And he was my coach, but that was one of the smaller parts of what he was. That guy was my best friend. He was my mentor / older brother / father figure.”
Smith was submitted by Antonio Braga Neto in his UFC debut back in 2013 and wasn't brought back into the fold until 2016, after which point he became a mainstay in the organization's 205 lb division.
A strong run of victories over Rashad Evans, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Volkan Oezdemir earned him a shot at then-champion Jon Jones in 2019. He ultimately lost by unanimous decision but has been one of the more active members of the light heavyweight divsiion in the years since.
Chinese star Mingyang Zhang enjoyed a sensational beginning to life in the UFC in 2024. "Mountain Tiger" knocked out both Brendson Ribeiro and Ozzy Diaz inside the opening round to announce his arrival onto the big stage.
The 26-year-old already has 12 KO/TKO victories to his name and should he come out on top against 14th-ranked Smith, he could find a number beside his name in the wake of UFC Kansas City.
