Anthony Smith “not doing well” following loss to Aleksandar Rakic

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith says he’s having a tough time recovering from his recent decision loss to Aleksandar Rakic.

Smith and Rakic collided in the main event of UFC Vegas 8 last Saturday, with Rakic ultimately winning a clear-cut unanimous decision. In defeat, Smith fell onto a two-fight skid, having also come up short against Glover Teixeira earlier this year.

Speaking on MMA on SiriusXM just days after his loss to Rakic, Smith conceded that he’s not doing particularly well physically or mentally.

🔊 @lionheartasmith reflects on his loss at #UFCVegas8, and updates us on how he is physically (still on crutches due to a fracture) and emotionally (super disappointed). pic.twitter.com/S4sw7cvjw5

— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) September 1, 2020

“It’s not good,” he said when asked about the state of his leg, which took a significant amount of punishment in the fight. “It’s not good at all. I’m still on crutches, so there’s that.

“If I’m being really honest with you guys, I’m not doing well,” Smith added, opening up on his mental state. “I’m super disappointed. I couldn’t get out of bed on Sunday. They had to send people from the [UFC Performance Institute] to my hotel room and drug me up and put a bunch of anti-inflammatory creams and big compression ice machines [on me]. It was like I had a whole f**king team in my room.

“It’s a little bit better today,” Smith continued. “There’s an occult fracture on my fibula head, so that’s cool. It sounds bad, but it’s not a huge deal actually. In four to six weeks it will be fine.”

Smith went on to explain how the leg damage he sustained in the fight made it impossible for him to adjust his gameplan, and expressed some surprise at the sheer power Rakic was able to generate with his kicks.

“Had I not had the leg damage, I would have changed my gameplan and just said ‘alright, we’re just going to stand in this boxing range and we’re just going to go to town here,'” he said. “And I’m confident I’d have been fine. But I couldn’t take one more leg kick. I didn’t have the ability to change my game plan to just strike with him and just box, because the one time he steps back into kicking range, and I don’t have enough time to close that distance, I’m down, and I’m not getting back up.

“That’s the thing. He kicked me three times. That is nuts. Hector Lombard kicked me 32 times in that fight. No issues. Three kicks from Aleksandar Rakic and I’m on crutches.”

What do you think the future holds for Anthony Smith after his tough loss to Aleksandar Rakic?