Anthony Smith discusses the immense struggles he faced trying to make 185 pounds: “I wasn’t sure I was going to live”

By Harry Kettle - August 11, 2022

Anthony Smith has detailed how extreme his weight cuts were when he was competing at middleweight in the UFC.

Anthony Smith, UFC Vegas 15

While he may have lost to Magomed Ankalaev in his last outing at UFC 277, Anthony Smith is still an important piece of the furniture at 205 pounds. Ever since making the move up to the weight class in 2018, ‘Lionheart’ has had some memorable moments – including fighting for the title, beating Alexander Gustafsson and more.

Prior to the move he was down at middleweight and while he also had some success there, he had to put his body through a whole lot just to get to fight night.

In a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Smith went into more detail on the matter.

“There were several times when I was cutting to ‘85 I wasn’t sure I was going to live. Yeah, it was bad,” Smith said. “I used to have to kneel in the back behind the curtain for a long time. Then I’d have to hurry up and stand — like if they had the little weird [mechanical] scale — they would have to put it exactly where I said I was on the check scale. Because if I had to stand there any longer and let them f—k around with it for too long, I’d pass out.

“I’d have to kneel with my head up and as soon as I stood, my coaches would get me up, I’d stand on the scale,” he continued. “That’s why I was rushed to the back because I wasn’t gonna be conscious much longer.”

“I couldn’t even walk from my hotel to the scale,” Smith said. “If it was a five-minute walk, it would take me 15 minutes because every five steps or so I’d have to kneel because I was trying to stay conscious.”

Quotes via MMA Mania

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